China rolls back retaliatory tariffs of 125% on some US-made semiconductors, import agencies say | CNN Business

Hong Kong CNN China appears to have quietly rolled back retaliatory tariffs of 125%, according to details provided to CNN on Friday by three import agencies in the southern technology hub of Shenzhen, as Beijing tries to soften the blow of an ongoing trade war on its all-important tech industry.

But these exemptions suggest it needs to roll back some levies on crucial items that it cannot make at home or source elsewhere. Besides semiconductors, China has decided to grant exemptions on some aircraft parts, including engines and landing gear, according to an aviation executive.

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said he was not familiar with the situation, when asked about the exemptions at a regular news conference Friday. CNN has reached out to the Chinese Commerce Ministry for comment.

Chen Shaoling, a manager at Zhengnenliang Supply Chain, an import agency, told CNN that she found out on Thursday that tariffs on eight kinds of integrated circuits, covering most semiconductors except for memory chips, had been waived to zero. The discovery was made during a routine custom clearance for her customers, she added. "We only found out after we filed the declaration without doing that, we wouldn't have known," Chen said. "The news is now spreading like wildfire."

Patience Grasshopper.

Libs are going to hate this.

Good Trump.

What are "tarrifs"?



Sounds Middle-Eastern-y!

BigRobSA said:

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What are "tarrifs"?



Sounds Middle-Eastern-y!

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Yeah, me not spell so well.

God, and I work in a electric utility-oriented space also you would think I could spell tariff. A thousand apologies.

Said it before, but China needs Americans' disposable income buying their stuff a lot worse than we need their cheap products. We can outlast them by a mile. Then prices will go back down for everyone.

Going to be a lot of leftist tears and crow to be eaten when Trump wins this fight and tilts the dynamic between us and China back in America's favor.

Ag87H2O said:

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Said it before, but China needs Americans' disposable income buying their stuff a lot worse than we need their cheap products. We can outlast them by a mile. Then prices will go back down for everyone.

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Yes, the US could hypothetically outlast China, but that isn't even a remote possibility. That scenario would lead to stagflation/depression and totally ruin the rest of Trumps agenda.

This idea of a full blown trade war was pondered for a few days, but now all sides know it's all an Art of the Deal bluff. It's why the markets have rebounded.

Perma tarriffs to onshore manufacturing was an empty threat Trump himself has mostly backed off of. Its about moving the needle on fairer trade with China. That's it. It will be done in a way that allows the CCP to save face and Trump to victory lap. It will all be over in a few months.

Funny because every major media headline about this tariff situation seems to be that Trump is blinking and China is standing strong.

JB!98 said:

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BigRobSA said:

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What are "tarrifs"?



Sounds Middle-Eastern-y!

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Yeah, me not spell so well.

God, and I work in a electric utility-oriented space also you would think I could spell tariff. A thousand apologies.

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There's a tariff on apologies. 1000 is rookie numbers. You need to pump them up!

They need to quiety tell the chicoms to drop the rare earth ban if they want to make any progress and make just enough progress so we can get our **** togehter in never depend on them again! Oh, I just remembered all the traitorous POS on WallStreet and in DC that let a crap load of critical medicines be offshored to be made our # 1 enemy.After a fair trial people need to be executed !!!

AtticusMatlock said:

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Funny because every major media headline about this tariff situation seems to be that Trump is blinking and China is standing strong.

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The same major media that relentlessly attacked him for the last 10 years?

China tries to fake that they are a leader in AI compute and saying that it's because of a superior LLM, but it's because they have been receiving NVIDIA H100 Tensorcore processors from Singapore under the table. No more of that.

China tries to pretend that they are advancing in EUVL tech, but suddenly they cant live without Netherlands-based ASML and their industry leading tech (because they cant steal it). Interesting.

Cracks among the regime?

BadMoonRisin said:

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China tries to fake that they are a leader in AI compute and saying that it's because of a superior LLM, but it's because they have been receiving NVIDIA H100 Tensorcore processors from Singapore under the table. No more of that.

China tries to pretend that they are advancing in EUVL tech, but suddenly they cant live without Netherlands-based ASML and their industry leading tech (because they cant steal it). Interesting.

Cracks among the regime?

---

As Democrat congressmen say, Trump won't be in office forever. Dems and China think they can wait out the American public.

BigRobSA said:

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What are "tarrifs"?



Sounds Middle-Eastern-y!

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You know it is that wrestler's singlet after a match ... (Chyna Tears it).

Just another media thing.

Trump put on tariffs in 2018. And Biden raised many of them.

I'm sure the MSM is celebrating this as Trump's tariffs are working.

Update: riots in parts of China.

Quote:

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Workers throughout China are flooding the streets in revolt as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs slam the fragile Chinese export economy.

From the cramped streets of Sichuan in the southwest to the cold outskirts of Inner Mongolia in the northeast, furious workers are demanding back pay and protesting mass layoffs as factories shutterunder pressure from Trump's tariffs.

Outside a LED light manufacturing plant near Shanghai, thousands of unpaid workers shouted furiously at company managers over wages that haven't been paid since January.

In central China's Dao County, a similar scene unfolded outside a sporting goods store after the company abruptly shut down last week without paying employees.

In the northeast city of Tongliao, construction workers climbed onto rooftops and threatened to jump if their wages were not paid.

The wave of unrest follows a brutal plunge in China's export orders, now at their lowest since the COVID lockdowns. Goldman Sachs estimates up to 16 million Chinese jobs could vanish as Trump's tariffs bite deeper into the regime's weak underbelly.

Trump said the tariffs placed on China are having their intended effect.

"They were making from us a trillion dollars a year. They were ripping us off like nobody's ever ripped us off," he stated. "They're not doing that anymore."

Huang Deming, a garment exporter in southern China, has already sidelined 30% of his workforce after three major U.S. clients walked away, the Wall Street Journal reported. Textile manager Qian Xichao said the internal market is so bleak that Chinese factories are locked in suicidal price wars just to stay afloat.
"To be frank, personally speaking, all we can do is go out and look for new opportunities," Qian told the Journal.

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Whelp, might have to cut off that fentanyl trade, Winnie the Pooh Xi. No matter how much it hurts your pride/feelings.

In before someone complains about not being able to buy trinkets.

Ellis Wyatt said:

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Libs are going to hate this.

Good Trump.

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Clearly the best metric for success.

AggieVictor10 said:

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Ellis Wyatt said:

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Libs are going to hate this.

Good Trump.

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Clearly the best metric for success.

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What's the problem? Do you propose he do the wrong things to appease them? Don't you understand that they will find fault in everything he does?

Trump should use Chyna tariffs to fund the protestors against Xi. Give them a bad case of US AIDs as payback for COVID.

America does not account for like 15% of their exports. Due to Trumps first round of sanctions, a lot of chinese companies moved production to : Vietnam, Mexico ect. When you look at those numbers too. It is around 22%-25%. This is killing them. I think they have no choice but to cave and have Xi and Trump have direct negociations. Which is Xi 100% against. The rest of the govt. wants to negociate, but it is Xi that is blocking it. He is fighting for his life politically right now. This might send him packing. He has purged a ton of top level PLA leaders. They have the long knives out for him. This might be their chance.

You do realize the only way you get rid of Xi is to kill him or have a coup.

The latter has potential. The former is very unlikely.

Xi will pull the plug on the Internet and exterminate any resistance that gains momentum.

Funky Winkerbean said:

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AggieVictor10 said:

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Ellis Wyatt said:

---

Libs are going to hate this.

Good Trump.

---

Clearly the best metric for success.

---

What's the problem? Do you propose he do the wrong things to appease them? Don't you understand that they will find fault in everything he does?

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Try not making **** more expensive for starters.

His power has really dwindled in the last few years. A lot of his allies recently have been arrested for corruption. There is a very strong chance he will not survive the year. When I say he is fighting for his life, I mean it. I think the tarriffs will be the nail in the coffin. Keep an eye on Hu Chunhua as his replacement.

EX TEXASEX said:

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His power has really dwindled in the last few years. A lot of his allies recently have been arrested for corruption. There is a very strong chance he will not survive the year. When I say he is fighting for his life, I mean it. I think the tarriffs will be the nail in the coffin. Keep an eye on Hu Chunhua!!

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Maybe, but history has shown many times, the new leadership could be more dangerous and stupid.

FobTies said:

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Ag87H2O said:

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Said it before, but China needs Americans' disposable income buying their stuff a lot worse than we need their cheap products. We can outlast them by a mile. Then prices will go back down for everyone.

---

Yes, the US could hypothetically outlast China, but that isn't even a remote possibility. That scenario would lead to stagflation/depression and totally ruin the rest of Trumps agenda.

This idea of a full blown trade war was pondered for a few days, but now all sides know it's all an Art of the Deal bluff. It's why the markets have rebounded.

Perma tarriffs to onshore manufacturing was an empty threat Trump himself has mostly backed off of. Its about moving the needle on fairer trade with China. That's it. It will be done in a way that allows the CCP to save face and Trump to victory lap. It will all be over in a few months.

---

I don't think outlasting will take much time. Chinese business owners and billionaires won't sit idly without voicing concerns behind the scenes. China knows it can't handle slowing growth.

More on China's peril.

Quote:

---

Along the way, Xi has used the camouflage of corruption investigations to purge senior government and military officials on multiple occasions.
His paranoia was perhaps well justified.
In a third major purge, taking down over 1300 officers and 80-plus generals, the party has started removing officials loyal to Xi under the same ruse corruption.
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia has quickly emerged as the counter force to Xi, and the silent force behind Xi loyalist dismissals.
President Trump's trade tariff policy came in at the worst possible moment for Emperor Xi facing mounting pressures for a failed economy and ruthless iron fist rule.
Xi's arrogant "wolf warrior" diplomacy to threaten retaliation ended in a thud during a 3-nation trip where he failed to rally support to counter the U.S. Americans, frustrated by unfair trade, fentanyl deaths, cartel collusion, espionage, cyber-attacks and the rest of the CCP's misplaced hubris, have had enough.
Unable to "save face," critical to any emperor's reign, Beijing quietly capitulated to President Trump, easing the counter-tariffs in key areas.

---

…

Quote:

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China is slowly moving from recession to depression.
Trump's global trade rebalancing to seek better deals in the world provided perfect camouflage to induce Stage 4 Cancer into the Mao Dynasty.
As the CCP and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) turn on each other in the absence of solutions, the Trump administration would do well to avoid underestimating a cornered dragon.
The way to avoid accountability could well be military action somewhere to refocus the Chinese on America as the real problem.
As Confucious said, "May you live in interesting times."

---

Worker protests in China are now
occurring with greater frequency as factories close: https://t.co/wBbaCfyveM.

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) May 1, 2025

China’s factory activity plummets to two year low

I’m hearing estimates of 10-19 million of job losses out of a 750 million workforce pic.twitter.com/DYREIQPWtv

— Special Situations 🌐 Research Newsletter (Jay) (@SpecialSitsNews) April 30, 2025

samurai_science said:

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EX TEXASEX said:

---

His power has really dwindled in the last few years. A lot of his allies recently have been arrested for corruption. There is a very strong chance he will not survive the year. When I say he is fighting for his life, I mean it. I think the tarriffs will be the nail in the coffin. Keep an eye on Hu Chunhua!!

---

Maybe, but history has shown many times, the new leadership could be more dangerous and stupid.

---

I think it will be better. The people in power realize this is not the china on the rise, this is china on its way down. I think they realize even though they are sociopaths they have to play nice with the West if they want the economy to improve. NOt because they care about the people, but a bad economy is a danger to their ability to stay in power. I have said this multiple times in the past. I don't know if Xi has acting this way for last 12 years because he is a hardcore commie, or because he wants to destroy ccp from within for murdering his sister during the cultural revolution. He has been a disaster for the ccp and china. I just hope he doesn't try to invade Taiwan before he is shown the exit.

I think many here are wrong...

1) BTW, it is not trinkets we want to buy. If you want useful electronics for instance (Oscillisopes etc.) they are mainly made in China. Many items are only made in china - and either tariffs or trying to purchase somewhere else will create a significant financial burden. We are well off and live "poor"; most do not and will feel financial pain from these tariffs.

2) Because of our political system, almost all of this manufaturing will likely never be brought back onshore. Who on this forum is willing to invest their portfolio in companies building manufacturing capacity, when it is likely in 3+ years the dems (or a more "moderate" republican) gets rid of these tariffs? You are left being the highest cost producer for commodity products.

3) The exception to 2) would be using robots/ai to replace people - but then you end up not bringing many jobs back.

4) Most importantly - Trump's lack of a public plan makes this a powerful enough edge-issue to affect the mid-terms, which generally goes against the incumbant party anyways. Hard to logically get behind a plan no one has seen.

BTW - I agree China is the devil, I just don't feel this approach has much chance of accomplishing its ends, whatever they may be.

nortex97 said:

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More on China's peril.

Quote:

---

Along the way, Xi has used the camouflage of corruption investigations to purge senior government and military officials on multiple occasions.
His paranoia was perhaps well justified.
In a third major purge, taking down over 1300 officers and 80-plus generals, the party has started removing officials loyal to Xi under the same ruse corruption.
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia has quickly emerged as the counter force to Xi, and the silent force behind Xi loyalist dismissals.
President Trump's trade tariff policy came in at the worst possible moment for Emperor Xi facing mounting pressures for a failed economy and ruthless iron fist rule.
Xi's arrogant "wolf warrior" diplomacy to threaten retaliation ended in a thud during a 3-nation trip where he failed to rally support to counter the U.S. Americans, frustrated by unfair trade, fentanyl deaths, cartel collusion, espionage, cyber-attacks and the rest of the CCP's misplaced hubris, have had enough.
Unable to "save face," critical to any emperor's reign, Beijing quietly capitulated to President Trump, easing the counter-tariffs in key areas.

---

…

Quote:

---

China is slowly moving from recession to depression.
Trump's global trade rebalancing to seek better deals in the world provided perfect camouflage to induce Stage 4 Cancer into the Mao Dynasty.
As the CCP and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) turn on each other in the absence of solutions, the Trump administration would do well to avoid underestimating a cornered dragon.
The way to avoid accountability could well be military action somewhere to refocus the Chinese on America as the real problem.
As Confucious said, "May you live in interesting times."

---

Worker protests in China are now
occurring with greater frequency as factories close: https://t.co/wBbaCfyveM.

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) May 1, 2025

China’s factory activity plummets to two year low

I’m hearing estimates of 10-19 million of job losses out of a 750 million workforce pic.twitter.com/DYREIQPWtv

— Special Situations 🌐 Research Newsletter (Jay) (@SpecialSitsNews) April 30, 2025

---

Not bad for a month

It's hard to trust reporting on modern wars. Whether it's Ukraine, Gaza, or this China trade war. Propaganda has become such an effective tool on all sides.

We can tell a lot by Putins actions and statements, just like we can about the CCPs reaction.

So far, it seems pretty clear the CCP will hold out for Trump to try to save face by spinning a couple small wins into epic MAGA victories. They have watched him do that already with other campaign promises.