In August, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs as high as 300% on foreign-made chips, but the plan now appears to be on the back burner.
US officials have been privately telling those in government and private industry that semiconductor-focused tariffs are unlikely to happen anytime soon, according to Reuters, citing unnamed sources.
One reason is that the White House wants to avoid angering the Chinese government after the Trump administration reached a trade deal with Beijing, which includes de-escalating US tariffs on Chinese exports. That said, Reuters also reports the White House could reverse course and impose the “triple-digit tariffs” at any time.
Even so, Taiwan—home to contract chip giant TSMC—seems confident that it won’t have to face the staggering tariffs. “They understand that punishing Taiwan is not in their interests,” a government minister for Taiwan’s science and technology council told The Financial Times.
Trump previously indicated the tariffs, which could range from 100% to 300%, would arrive in late August or September. However, the White House has since remained quiet on the subject as the Supreme Court reviews whether Trump’s existing “reciprocal” tariffs and those imposed this year are legal. If the court rules against the Trump administration, the White House may face the complex task of reimbursing numerous businesses for their previous tariff payments.
(That said, the White House has been planning to impose chip-related tariffs using a different legal authority known as Section 232, which the Supreme Court is not evaluating.)
The president’s proposed tariffs on foreign-made chips also had a major exemption. “If you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge,” he said. As a result, the leading companies—including Apple, Nvidia, TSMC, and Samsung—are expected to be spared following major manufacturing investments in the US. But the exact details of Trump’s exemption were never made clear.
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About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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