US Tariff on Electronics from China

Electronics from China face the highest combined tariff rates of any major exporting country, driven by Section 301 tariffs that specifically target Chinese goods. The total effective rate is approximately 35%.

The breakdown: most consumer electronics enter at 0% MFN base rate under the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). However, Section 301 tariffs add 25% on most electronics categories (Lists 1-3), and the 10% Section 122 tariff brings the total to 35%. Before the SCOTUS ruling, the IEEPA rate was 20%, making the old total 45%.

Key product categories and their rates: smartphones and tablets (35%), laptops and computers (35%), networking equipment (35%), consumer electronics like speakers and cameras (35%), and lithium-ion batteries (35%). Semiconductors face even steeper rates — 25% Section 301 plus 25% Section 232 plus 10% Section 122 = 60%.

China dominates global electronics manufacturing, producing approximately 70% of smartphones, 90% of laptops, and the vast majority of consumer electronics components. Despite the 35% tariff, many products simply cannot be sourced elsewhere at comparable quality and scale.

Alternative source countries now all face only 10% Section 122: Vietnam (10%), Taiwan (10% base, but 25% Section 232 on semiconductors), South Korea (10%), Japan (10%), and Mexico (0% for USMCA-qualifying assembly). The SCOTUS ruling made these alternatives dramatically more competitive — Vietnam dropped from 46% to 10%, a 36-point swing.

For importers, strategies include diversifying supply chains to split production between China (for complex products) and lower-tariff countries (for commodity electronics), and exploring Mexican assembly for USMCA qualification.