At the start of the month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the upcoming imposition of an additional 10% tariffs on $300 billion worth of goods from China. This included electronics items like laptops, monitors and smartphones, leaving tech stocks tumbling.
However, in a new announcement, the Office of the United States Trade Representative noted that certain goods are being removed from the list initially proposed by the Trump administration, based on "health, safety, national security and other factors."
Moreover, the government agency has decided that it will not be imposing tariffs on "cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing" for the time being, delaying these tariffs to December 15, instead of the September 1 date announced by President Trump.
The news sent U.S. stocks, and especially tech stocks, soaring, with the Nasdaq rising 1.9%. Apple, which manufactures most of its products in China, in particular, saw a marked 4.2% improvement in its stock price for the day.
The news comes amid a tumultuous couple of weeks for the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S. While relations between the two seemed to be on the mend, the Trump administration suddenly decided to hold off on granting U.S. companies a license to trade with Huawei last week, and also labeled China a "currency manipulator". Compared to the chaos of last week, today"s development marks a more hopeful turn of events.