April 13 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump declared Sunday that no country is "getting off the hook," as he defended his widely criticized and sweeping on-again, off-again tariffs that have submerged both U.S. and global markets in uncertainty.
Trump has turned to tariffs as a tool to even out trade deficits, as a negotiation tactic and as an attempt to spur the domestic manufacturing industry.
Since returning to office, he has imposed a 145% tariff on all goods from China and attempted to hit nearly all other countries with so-called reciprocal tariffs. However, under threat of a worsening U.S. economy, Trump last week issued a 90-day pause on tariffs hitting nearly all nations other than China. Then on Friday, tariff exemptions were issued for electronics, such as computers and smartphones.
Amid the confusion -- and adding to it -- Trump took to his Truth Social media platform on Sunday to state that the tariff exceptions for computers, smartphones and other electronics announced Friday were not true exceptions as they were still subject to a 20% tariff he had earlier imposed on imported Chinese goods.
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"We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations," he said in the post.
He also defended the sweeping mass tariffs he recently paused, stating: "NOBODY is getting 'off the hook' for the unfair Trade Balances and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!"
Trump made the post after his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told ABC's This Week on Sunday that the tariff exemptions on cell phones and other electronic devices were only temporary.
"Electronics are exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but they're included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably another month or two," Lutnick said on ABC's This Week.
Lutnick said Sunday that tariffs on specific sectors of the economy deemed key to national security are not up for negotiation, and added that electronics, such as smartphones, iPhones and laptops, will face separate levies. He said those tariffs are "not available for negotiation."
Trump's critics have said the situation surrounding tariffs and the policy itself amounts to "chaos and confusion."
"Investors will not invest in the United States when Donald Trump is playing 'red light, green light' with tariffs and saying, 'Oh, and for my special donors, you get a special exemption," Warren said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.
The uncertainty over trade tariffs prompted volatility in U.S. markets last week, punctuated by an 1,100-point loss in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Thursday but numbers whipsawed all week amid on-again, off-again levy uncertainty.
