Washington DC - President Donald Trump's administration has exempted smartphones, computers, and other electronics from its punishing "reciprocal" tariffs – lessening the cost impact on American consumers for a host of popular high-tech products.

The exemptions, published late Friday in a notice by the US Customs and Border Protection office, cover various electronic goods, including smartphones and components entering the US from China, which are currently subject to a staggering additional 145% tariff.

Semiconductors are also excluded from the "baseline" 10% tariff on most US trading partners and the added 125% levy on China.

The exclusions narrow the range of sweeping 10% levies announced by President Trump earlier this month, and the punishing additional rate on goods from China.

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Trump has targeted China especially with his "reciprocal tariffs" meant to address practices Washington deemed unfair – most recently introducing a new 125% tariff on goods from the world's second-biggest economy that took effect this week.

The rate piled atop an earlier 20% levy Trump imposed over China's alleged role in fentanyl supply chains, and other existing tariffs from previous administrations – taking the full figure to at least 145% for many products.

Many of the exempted products, including hard drives and computer processors, generally are not made in America.

While Trump has referred to tariffs as a way to bring manufacturing back to the US, it will likely take years to ramp up domestic manufacturing.