White House officials clarified on Thursday that the 125 percent tariff the president announced on Wednesday was in addition to a 20 percent added to the country since President Trump returned to office.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced late Friday that some smartphones, computers, chips and other electronics would be exempted from tariffs, but Trump's top economic advisers hit the Sunday talk shows to explain the policy, saying that tariffs against electronics would be coming in the next month or two.

China will pay no attention if the United States continues to play the "tariff numbers game", China's foreign ministry said on Thursday, after the White House outline how China faces tariffs of up to 245% due to its retaliatory actions.