A cargo ship full of shipping containers is seen at the port of Oakland as trade tensions escalate over US tariffs, in Oakland, California, US, on March 6, 2025. Photo: IC

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Sunday that the US' move to exempt "reciprocal tariffs" on some products is a "small step" for the US to correct its erroneous practice, while urging the US to make a "big step" by canceling the "reciprocal tariffs," and return to the right path of mutual respect and resolving differences through equal dialogue.

"According to a memorandum the US side released on Saturday (US time), the US administration has granted exclusions from "reciprocal tariffs" to computers, smartphones, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and integrated circuits. China is evaluating the relevant impact," a spokesperson with the MOFCOM said.

The spokesperson said this is the second adjustment to the relevant policies since the US suspended the imposition of high "reciprocal tariffs" on some trading partners on April 10 and it should be said that this is a small step for the US to correct its unilateral "reciprocal tariff" erroneous practice.

The implementation of so-called "reciprocal tariffs" through an administrative order not only contravenes fundamental economic and market principles but also disregards the complementary cooperation and supply-demand relationships between nations. Since the introduction of "reciprocal tariffs" on April 2, it has not only failed to resolve any issues for the US but has also severely disrupted the international trade order, significantly interfering with normal business operations and people's consumption, ultimately harming others without benefiting itself, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson urges the US to face up to the rational voices of the international community and domestic parties, take a big step in correcting its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of "reciprocal tariffs," and return to the right path of mutual respect and resolving differences through equal dialogue.

In a notice to shippers, the US Customs and Border Protection agency published a list of tariff codes excluded from the import taxes, Reuters reported Saturday. The exclusions are retroactive to 12:01 am EDT on April 5, according to Reuters.

The agency listed 20 product categories, including the broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disc drives and automatic data processing. It also included semiconductor devices, equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays. For Chinese imports, the exclusion only applies to the US administration's reciprocal tariffs, which climbed to 125 percent this week, according to a White House official. The US administration's prior 20 percent duties on all Chinese imports that the official said were related to the US fentanyl crisis remain in place, it claimed.

The exclusions should be made out of pragmatic considerations, since the main victims of the US' steep reciprocal tariffs are American users who will have to pay extremely higher prices for many products, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday, noting that "American consumers have demand for many Chinese goods."

The move is the "first significant softening of any kind" in the US administration's trade conflict with China, Bloomberg reported.

The exemptions cover almost $390 billion in US imports based on official US 2024 trade statistics, including more than $101 billion from China, according to data compiled by Gerard DiPippo, associate director of the Rand China Research Center, per Bloomberg.

Dan Ives, an analyst with US financial services firm Wedbush, called the exemptions the "best possible news for tech investors" that lifts a huge cloud over the sector, as US tech giants had virtually no alternatives outside of their Asia-based supply chains, Fortune reported.

"Without these exemptions the US Tech industry would be taken back a decade and the AI Revolution thesis would have been slowed significantly," Ives wrote in an X post on Saturday. "We believe the White House got enough overwhelming feedback from tech and business leaders from Silicon Valley throughout the week that tariffs especially those in China would structurally change the business models," Ives wrote.

Beset by chaos

He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Sunday that the US' tariff exemptions are within expectations. "Amid strong opposition from the international community, effective countermeasures from US' trade partners including China, and the deterioration of US' domestic economy, so-called 'reciprocal tariffs' are destined to fail."

Since the US announcement of so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on April 2, there has been much uncertainty and chaos, analysts said.  On Wednesday, the US administration dropped new tariff rates on imports from most US trade partners to 10 percent for 90 days to allow trade negotiations with those countries, CNBC reported.

On Friday, US Customs and Border Protection reported that an entry code in the US system for American ships to use to have their freight exempted from tariffs isn't working and as a result, no tariffs are being collected by the US government for the time being. 

The glitch was later fixed after lasting for more than 10 hours, according to the latest alert provided by the CBP, CNBC reported.

On Saturday, the US president said that he will provide an update on the US administration's approach to semiconductor tariffs on Monday, Reuters reported.

"The repeated reversals of the US' tariff policies harms its reputation as a country, and the implementation of so-called 'reciprocal tariffs' will encounter many difficulties as well," Cui Fan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed higher Friday, adding to its steep weekly rise, as dizzying trade moves by the US administration caused investors to dump US assets in favor of other global safe havens, CNBC reported.

Looking ahead, the US' tariff exemptions may extend to cover more products, Lü said. "It is difficult for US consumers to find replacements for many staple goods, and accordingly the US' high tariffs will push up domestic inflation in the short term," he said.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Friday he expects the tariffs to push inflation up to between 3.5 percent and 4 percent this year, which would represent a marked rise in price pressures from the current level of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, which was 2.5 percent on a year-over-year basis in February, Reuters reported.

"It's time for Washington to calm down and re-evaluate the profound adverse impacts of its sweeping tariffs on its trade partners, including China. Exerting maximum pressure on China will not achieve its goal," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Responding with solidarity

In Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, a bustling hub known globally for its vast range of low-cost yet high-quality products, traders said they remain optimistic despite the recently announced 125 percent tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese imports and the future uncertainty.

"Our tools already have a strong reputation in the US," Wang Nan, a hardware merchant who has operated in Yiwu for more than 20 years told the Global Times. "The tariff increase has nothing to do with us, but the people in the US will be affected. It will take out more money from US people."

"Also, we are not putting all our eggs in one basket," Wang said. Although we have stable partners in the US, we also work with buyers in over 100 other countries. As soon as we heard of potential hurdles in the US market, we expanded our sales elsewhere to reduce potential risks, Wang added.

"China has the ability and confidence to address various risks and challenges, including the US tariffs," Cui said, noting that China's ultra-large domestic market and relatively complete industrial and supply chains make the country competitive internationally.

In recent days, more and more Chinese retail giants have launched initiatives aimed at helping Chinese exporters tap into the country's vast domestic market. For example, e-commerce giant JD.com has announced that it will purchase 200-billion-yuan ($27.34 billion) worth of export-to-domestic goods over the next year to help foreign trade firms.

"China's countermeasures fully show its resolute stance to uphold WTO rules, oppose the US' unilateral tariffs, and safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests. It underscores that China is not in a disadvantageous position and will not bend to the ridiculous high pressure and tariffs from the US," He Weiwen said.