Trump’s 100% Chip Tariff’s threat has left more questions than answers
US President Donald Trump with August Pal’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook at the White House’s Oval Office on August 6, 2025.
Win McNaman | Getty
After several months of guessing, US President Donald Trump has stated more plans for his semiconductor tariff, but its latest threats can raise more questions than answers.
On Wednesday Trump said it would raise 100% rates on the imports of semiconductor and chips, but no Companies They are “buildings in the United States.”
As the semiconductor represents a Billion’s $ 600 billion industry In the middle of the modern digital economy, any possible rates are widespread.
However, experts say the President has not yet given the main information about the policy, which will eventually determine their complete outcome and target.
“Reducing the impact of prices on the semiconductor area is still very early,” Ray Wang told the CNBC, Director of Semiconductor of Futurum Group.
“The final rule is still being drafted and technical details are not clear at this stage.”
Big players are good, small player cooked?
The biggest question for chip players and investors is how much the company needs to produce the United States to qualify for a tariff suit.
The United States has been working on the coast for many years on its semiconductor supply chain. Since 2020, the world’s largest semiconductor companies like TSMC and Samsung have made hundreds of billions of dollars to produce plants in the United States.
Talking to CNBC’s “Squalk Box Asia” on Thursday, Managing Director and Chief James Sulwan of Asia Pacific Research in JP Morgan said that most of the larger chip growers get suit.
If this is the case, “This policy may result in the result of this policy to continue to increase the market in the largest cap players in the space,” Sulwan said.
Shares of Asian Chip Magers TSMC and Samsung increased in trade on Thursday morning after Trump’s announcement. At the beginning of this year, TSMC Declared This will expand the US investment up to $ 165 billion.
South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hinnix have invested shares – who have invested in the United States – Korean trade messenger on the radio that the two will be exempted from 100% rates.
What a discount on?
Beyond the question of the suit, many aspects of potential rates are unclear.
Speaking on Thursday CNBC’s “Squalk Box Asia”, American semiconductor analyst in Bernostin mentioned that most semiconductor semiconductor semiconductor smartphones, PCs and cars come into customers like consumer goods.
For example, in 224 the United States imported $ 3 $ .. $ 3 billion imported – only 5% of all US imports imports Information Technology and Innovation Foundation??
Rasgon said the rates on these imports may be managing, said Rasgon, it would be difficult to deal with widespread rates.
“We don’t know what with comments on Trump’s rates, are they only raw semiconductor? Will the last equipment be prices? Are you looking at the rates on the components in the last equipment?” Rasgon asked.
April 1 by the US Department of Commerce National Security Investigation In the import of semiconductor. After a day, this is the area Discount From Trump’s “mutual” rates.
The unclear language of the Trump administration – even if the President’s latest announcements are not appealed – can be used theoretically to implement the widespread rates in the huge section of the electronics supply chain. It is also unclear the amount of semiconductor materials and production equipment used to make chips.
Complex Supply Chen
The complex and interdependent nature of the semiconductor supply chain can also be complicated by the strategy of potential rates.
Rasgon gave an example of an American chip designer Qualcomm, which sends his design to TSMC to make Taiwan and then imported the United States.
“That means that they (chip importions) will not get the rate, because they are created at TSMC and TSMC is ready in the United States? … I don’t know. Hopefully this will happen,” he said.
Another bigger buyer of semiconductor in the United States is the Claud Service provider Amazon mezon Web service and GoogleWhich is required to give strength to Washington’s AI Yojana.
According to the recent Report From ITIF, Semiconductor AII and “Big Data” contribute to $ 7 trillion in global economic activity annually by ranging several downstream applications.
In a potential sign that American companies are trying to move their chip supply chains to the United States, Appple belt Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, along with Trump at the White House, announced on Wednesday that he would be supplied by Samsung’s Production Plant in Texas.
The company announced an additional $ 2 billion in the US investment, and in the next four years, the total investment commitment of the country has been increased by $ 2 billion.
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