Trump's 10% global tariffs: which products are exempt? iPhones, oil, beef, and pharmaceuticals are all exempt from paying tariffs.

Trump invokes Section 122 of the Trade Act to impose a 10% global tariff, but the exemption list published by the White House covers more than ten categories of products, including energy, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, automobiles, mobile phones, and critical minerals.
(Background: Breaking News — U.S. Supreme Court rules Trump’s $175 billion retaliatory tariffs illegal! White House claims there are safeguards, Bitcoin hits $68,000)
(Additional context: U.S. Commerce Secretary: Aims to shift 40% of Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain to the U.S., rejects 100% tariffs)

Yesterday evening (20th), the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not grant the President unilateral authority to impose tariffs. Since 2025, the tariffs imposed by U.S. Customs under this law, estimated at $175 billion, have been deemed illegal.

Hours after the ruling was announced, Trump signed an executive order at the White House, invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose an additional 10% global tariff on top of existing tariffs. However, the exemption list released on the same day significantly narrowed the actual scope of this “10% global tariff.”

The White House listed over ten categories of exempted products in its announcement and attachments, with more than 90% of these exemptions continuing previous exclusions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Complete Exemption List: What Doesn’t Pay the 10%?

According to the White House announcement and attachments, the following categories of imported goods are exempt from the 10% tariff:

Energy and Natural Resources

• Oil, natural gas, and related energy products
• Natural resources and fertilizers that the U.S. cannot produce domestically or cannot produce enough of to meet domestic demand

Critical Minerals

• Certain critical minerals (such as rare earth elements and other strategic minerals)

Agricultural Products

• Beef, tomatoes, oranges
• Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, bananas
• Tropical fruits and fruit juices

Pharmaceuticals

• Medicines and pharmaceutical raw materials (APIs)

Electronics

• Smartphones, laptops
• Memory chips, flat-panel displays
• Semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment

Automobiles and Transportation

• Passenger cars, certain light trucks
• Specific medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and buses
• Certain components of the above vehicles

Aerospace

• Certain aerospace products

Currency and Precious Metals

• Metals used for currency and gold bars (gold, silver)

Information and Humanitarian Supplies

• Books, publications, and informational materials
• Humanitarian donations (food, clothing, medicines)
• Personal luggage

Copper and Wood

• Copper and copper products
• Wood products

Trade Agreement-Eligible Goods

• Goods from Canada and Mexico that meet USMCA (US-Mexico-Canada Agreement) requirements
• Textiles and apparel eligible for duty-free entry under DR-CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement)

Goods Already Subject to Other Tariffs

• Steel and aluminum subject to Section 232 tariffs
• All items that may be subject to Section 232 tariffs in the future

Three Signals Behind the List

First Signal: Inflation is the real red line

Exemptions for energy, food, and pharmaceuticals—categories that directly impact consumer price indices. Recent data shows core PCE rising 3% annually, already above the Federal Reserve’s target.

Second Signal: Supply chain vulnerabilities cannot be solved by tariffs

Exemptions for semiconductors, critical minerals, and pharmaceutical raw materials acknowledge that the U.S. cannot replace imports in the short term. Advanced process chips from TSMC and Samsung, China’s rare earth processing capacity, India’s generic drug production scale—tariffs on these items would harm U.S. manufacturing and healthcare systems, not exporting countries.

Third Signal: Existing tariff jurisdictions must be respected

Steel and aluminum already face 25% tariffs under Section 232; automobiles are also under Section 232. The 10% under Section 122 is not additive to these, to avoid legal conflicts and to maintain existing protections for these industries.