President Trump signaled on Sunday that he would pursue new tariffs on the powerful computer chips inside smartphones and other technologies, just two days after his administration excluded a variety of electronics from the steep import taxes recently applied on goods arriving from China.

特朗普总统周日表示，有意对智能手机及其他科技产品内的高性能计算机芯片加征新的关税。而就在两天前，他的政府刚刚将多种电子产品排除在近期对中国进口商品加征的高额关税范围之外。

The push came as Mr. Trump’s top economic advisers scrambled to explain their shifting strategy, after having insisted for weeks that they would shield no company or industry from any of the fees they have levied in a bid to reset U.S. trade relationships.

与此同时，特朗普的高级经济顾问们正忙着解释他们不断变化的策略，此前数周他们一直坚称，为了重新调整美国的贸易关系，他们所征收的一切关税不会对任何公司或行业豁免。

The reprieve for technology companies arrived in the form of a Customs and Border Protection rule issued late Friday that spared high-tech imports from Mr. Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, including those on China. While the president paused a set of punishing levies on nearly 60 countries last week, his administration has forged ahead with a new 145 percent tax on Chinese exports, announcing it after Beijing retaliated against the United States.

上周五晚些时候，海关与边境保护局发布了一项规定，对特朗普所谓的对等关税（包括对中国的关税）中的高科技进口产品予以豁免，科技公司因此获得了暂时的喘息之机。尽管总统上周暂停了对近60个国家的一系列惩罚性关税，他的政府仍推进了对中国出口产品加征145%新关税的计划，这是在中方对美方采取反制措施后宣布的。

The exclusions in the C.B.P. rule covered a wide slate of products, such as computers, smartphones, modems and flash drives, and it represented a major victory for Apple, and other U.S. technology giants, which rely on Chinese factories to help manufacture important components and popular devices. Apple executives had even been in contact with Trump administration officials about the Chinese tariffs in recent days, according to two people with knowledge of the company’s efforts. The company declined to comment.

海关与边境保护局的豁免广泛涵盖了一系列产品，如电脑、智能手机、调制解调器和闪存驱动器等。对于苹果公司以及其他依赖中国工厂来生产重要零部件和热门设备的美国科技巨头来说，这是一场重大胜利。据两名了解苹果公司相关努力的人士透露，近几天苹果公司高管甚至就中国关税问题与特朗普政府官员进行了接触。苹果公司拒绝置评。

But on Sunday, Mr. Trump and his top aides cast the exemptions in a different light, framing them as only a temporary break while the government prepares more targeted import taxes on key technologies. The administration is expected to take the first step toward enacting the new tariffs as soon as next week, opening an investigation to determine the effects of semiconductor imports on national security.

然而在周日，特朗普及其高级助手对这些豁免给出了不同的解释，将其描述为只是政府在准备对关键技术实施更具针对性进口关税之前的临时举措。特朗普政府预计最早将于下周朝着实施新关税迈出第一步，届时将展开一项调查，以确定半导体进口对国家安全的影响。

The approach appears to mirror the process that yielded Mr. Trump’s tariffs on other specific products and sectors, including the high fees he imposed on foreign cars and auto parts this year. On social media, the president signaled Sunday that the scope of his next inquiry would be broad, “taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations.”

这种做法似乎与特朗普对其他特定产品和行业征收关税的过程如出一辙，包括今年他对外国汽车及汽车零部件征收的高额关税。周日，特朗普在社交媒体上暗示他下一轮调查的范围将很广泛，“在即将进行的国家安全关税调查中，我们要看看半导体以及整个电子供应链。”

“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!” Mr. Trump added.

特朗普还表示：“对于其他国家——尤其是对待我们最最恶劣的中国——针对我们的不公平贸易平衡以及非货币性关税壁垒，谁也别想‘脱罪’！”

Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, said earlier Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Mr. Trump could announce new tariffs “in the next month or two” that would target not only semiconductors but also pharmaceutical imports, another priority for the administration.

美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克周日早些时候在ABC的《本周》节目中表示，特朗普可能会“在未来一两个月内”宣布新的关税措施，目标不仅包括半导体，还会涉及药品进口，后者也是政府的一个优先事项。

特朗普总统本月宣布对近60个国家征收“对等关税”，但上周突然宣布暂停征收其中的大部分税项。

Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that it was “always the case” that some of these high-tech imports would be subject to their own tariffs, separate from those broadly imposed on countries in response to their trade practices.

白宫国家经济委员会主任凯文·哈西特在接受CNN《国情咨文》节目采访时表示，这些高科技进口产品中的一部分将单列税项，而且“一直都是这么打算的”，这与为回应其他国家的贸易行为而对这些国家广泛征收的关税有所不同。

“Semiconductors are a key important part of a lot of defense equipment,” Mr. Hassett added, saying, “I don’t think anything really should be a surprise.”

“半导体是许多国防装备的关键重要组成部分，”哈西特还称。“我认为这没什么可意外的。”

And Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, described the move on CBS’s “Face the Nation” as more of a mechanical change, saying of semiconductors that it is “not that they won’t be subject to tariffs” but that they are being done under a “different regime.”

美国贸易代表贾米森·格里尔在CBS《面对全国》节目中称，这一举措更多的是一种机制上的变化。谈到半导体时，他表示“不是说它们不会被征收关税”，只是它们将在“不同的机制下”被征税。

The Trump administration had already excluded various types of semiconductors from the reciprocal tariffs as of April 2. But the chaotic changes in tariffs and exclusions in recent days bewildered businesses that depend on trade with China. Some investors and chief executives publicly praised the decision to walk back tariffs on electronics, which represent roughly a quarter of U.S. imports from China.

截至4月2日，特朗普政府已将各类半导体排除在对等关税范围之外。但近几天来关税和豁免方面的混乱变化让依赖与中国贸易的企业感到困惑。一些投资者和首席执行官公开赞扬了取消对电子产品关税的决定，电子产品约占美国自中国进口商品的四分之一。

“A willingness to adjust a strategy based on new facts and data is a sign of the strength of a leader,” Bill Ackman, the chief executive of the hedge fund Pershing Square, wrote on social media. “It is not an indication of weakness.”

对冲基金潘兴广场首席执行官比尔·阿克曼在社交媒体上写道：“愿意根据新的事实和数据调整策略是领导者强大的标志，这并非软弱的表现。”

Still, there appears to be no quick end to the trade conflict with China in sight. And the potential for new tariffs on chips threatened to cast another pall over the tech industry, even as major lobbying groups representing Intel, Nvidia and other companies have encouraged the Trump administration to strike trade deals that ultimately lower trade barriers globally.

尽管如此，与中国的贸易冲突似乎仍看不到短时间内结束的迹象。即使代表英特尔、英伟达等公司的主要游说团体一直敦促特朗普政府达成最终降低全球贸易壁垒的贸易协议，但对芯片加征新关税的可能性仍有可能给科技行业蒙上又一层阴影。

Asked about the possibility of upcoming tariffs on chips on Saturday, Mr. Trump said, “I’ll give you that answer on Monday.”

周六，当被问及即将对芯片加征关税的可能性时，特朗普表示：“我周一再给你答案。”

“We’ll be very specific,” he added. “But we’re taking in a lot of money. As a country we’re taking in a lot of money.”

“我们会非常明确的，”他还说。“但我们会收到很多钱。我们作为一个国家会拿到很多钱。”

Dan Ives, an analyst for Wedbush Securities, said in a note to investors on Sunday that “the mass confusion created by this constant news flow out of the White House is dizzying for the industry and investors and creating massive uncertainty and chaos for companies trying to plan their supply chain, inventory and demand.”

韦德布什证券公司分析师丹·艾夫斯周日在给投资者的一份报告中表示：“白宫不断传出的这些消息所造成的巨大混乱让行业和投资者感到头晕目眩，也给那些试图规划供应链、库存和需求的公司带来了巨大的不确定性和混乱。”

Ultimately, new taxes on chip imports could make it more expensive for U.S. companies to produce smartphones and other devices, cutting into their profits or forcing them to raise prices on American consumers. For Apple, in particular, the tit for tat between the United States and China caused the tech giant to lose more than $770 billion in market capitalization in just the opening days of Mr. Trump’s trade war.

最终，对芯片进口加征新关税可能会使美国公司生产智能手机和其他设备的成本增加，削减它们的利润，或者迫使它们提高面向美国消费者的产品价格。尤其是对于苹果公司来说，美中之间的针锋相对使得这家科技巨头在特朗普贸易战打响后的短短几天内，市值就损失了超过7700亿美元。

Since then, the two nations have continued to retaliate against each other, causing financial markets around the world to whipsaw in the face of a persistent and costly standoff. U.S. consumers even appeared to rush out to purchase new iPhones last week, anticipating that a protracted trade conflict could push up prices.

从那以后，两国继续相互报复，持续且代价高昂的对峙导致全球金融市场剧烈波动。上周，美国消费者甚至似乎在争相抢购iPhone新款手机，因为他们预计旷日持久的贸易冲突可能会推高产品价格。