The news over the weekend that electronic goods from China are now subject to a lower tariff level, at least temporarily , should help boost the stock market, according to Fundstrat head of research Tom Lee. “Everything that happened over the weekend, including the Sunday further explanations, all of this is still unequivocally positive for stocks,” Lee said Monday on CNBC’s ” Squawk Box .” On Saturday, the White House confirmed technical guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that said many electronic devices and components from China had been made exempt from the largest tariffs. However, Trump and his advisors pushed back against the idea that electronics now had a tariff “exception,” saying that the goods had been moved to a different category of tariffs and would also be subject to separate semiconductor-specific import levies in the future. For now, the Chinese electronics appear to be subject to a 20% tariff only, instead of the reciprocal tariff that is above 100%. The lower tariffs could be a significant change for some major American companies that have extensive supply chain exposure to China, including Apple . The rollback is a sign that President Donald Trump is listening to business leaders about their concerns with the tariffs, Lee said. “They’re caught up in this tempest and they need the time to actually change supply chains. That’s why I think this exemption — even if it’s just a stay of execution — really buys time for companies,” Lee said. The Fundstrat co-founder also said he believes his firm’s year-end target for the S & P 500 of 6,600 is “still possible.” That would be an increase of 23% from where the index closed Friday.
