Trump Administration Plans Tariff Hikes on Imported Semiconductors and Chip-Embedded Products, with Waivers for U.S. Manufacturers

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on September 2 that the Trump administration is considering imposing a new round of tariffs on imported semiconductors to encourage semiconductor manufacturing to return to the United States. Earlier this year, in January, the Trump administration had already imposed a 25% tariff on certain advanced semiconductors. The new tariffs could be expanded further to include products containing chips, such as data center servers and consumer electronics. Lutnick stated that the policy would be accompanied by tariff exemptions for companies investing in domestic U.S. manufacturing facilities, similar to previous measures implemented for the pharmaceutical industry. He said, "If you build a factory in the U.S., we’ll give you a tariff exemption; if you don’t build in the U.S., you’ll have to pay tariffs." According to Lutnick, approximately $1.2 trillion in investment commitments have already been made to build semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the United States, involving companies such as TSMC and Micron Technology.