Chinese TVs Not Part Of Relaxed Electronics Tariffs, But Flat Panels Appear To Be Exempted: Counterpoint

April 14, 2025 by Dave Haynes

Just to muddy the supply chain outlook a bit more, a new post by display supply chain experts Counterpoint Research notes that the tariffs on electronics that were relaxed this weekend exclude TVs – so if you were planning to by a big ole Hisense for watching, I dunno, the NHL playoffs, they’ll soon cost 145% more.

At least as of midday Monday.

Counterpoint’s Bob O’Brien in a post this morning writes:

After a series of escalating tariffs on imports from China threatened to make display products prohibitively expensive, President Trump on Friday announced to exempt most of these products from higher tariffs. The exemption applies to all countries including China, and covers smartphones, mobile PCs (laptops and tablets) and parts thereof, monitors, flat panel displays, semiconductors and semiconductor equipment. The exemption does not cover TVs, so TVs imported from China will incur a massive additional 145% tariff. Imports of electronics from China will still be subject to the 20% tariff Trump imposed because of the country’s role in fentanyl trade.

We have updated our table on the effects for the four major display applications, showing imports by country and the effect on the average import cost per unit. Imports of smartphones, mobile PCs and monitors had no tariff in 2024, and with the exemption, these products will continue to be imported duty-free from most countries but still face a 20% tariff when imported from China.

TV imports were subject to a 3.9% tariff in 2024, with the exception of TV imports from China, which were subject to an additional 7.5% tariff to take the total to 11.4%, and TV imports from Mexico, which were duty-free under the USMCA.

With the new reciprocal tariff, TV imports from China will be subject to a tariff of 156.4%, and we expect that most of these imports will cease. The TVs imported from China in 2024 were generally smaller and/or off-brand TVs; production of these TVs will shift to alternative manufacturing hubs in Mexico and Southeast Asia.

Before the exemption, the prospective tariffs on display end products went from $46 billion a week ago to $117 billion on Friday. The 20% tariff on the smaller applications remains a significant cost, and supply chains will need to work to minimize the impact.

I asked Bob by email if he had more clarity on where pro displays sat, as in are they monitors or are they a variation on TVs:

I’m not sure about the implications for signage displays.
The “Monitor” category in my post refers specifically to HTS code 842852, which is described as a monitor “Capable of directly connecting to and designed for use with an automatic data processing machine of heading 8471”
8471 is the code for computers.
If a signage or professional monitor is “capable” and “designed for use”, then it’s in 842852 and the numbers in my post apply. If it is not “capable” or not “designed for use” then it’s in another category, likely 842859, and my numbers don’t apply.

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