Is Donald Trump’s administration considering another round of semiconductor tariffs? The report reveals…. | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering another broad tariff package targeting semiconductors, Politico reported Thursday, citing eight people familiar with the discussions.
The proposed measures could extend beyond the chips themselves to a wider range of electronic products that depend on semiconductors, including laptops, game consoles and data center servers, the report said.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick supports a framework that would allow foreign companies to receive tariff relief based on their commitments to invest in semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. The approach is aimed at encouraging more domestic chip production, the report said.
Washington is also considering phasing in proposed semiconductor tariffs, though the framework could undergo significant changes over the next few weeks or months, Politico reported.
LiveMint could not independently confirm the report.
The White House and the US Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in May that the government has no plans to impose new tariffs on semiconductors anytime soon. But he stressed the importance of protecting the industry through tariffs that encourage the return of chip manufacturing to the United States.
The prospect of new tariffs on semiconductor imports is raising concerns across the U.S. technology sector, which is already struggling with a tight supply of advanced chips as demand grows due to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence-enabled data centers.
According to Politico, industry representatives say they support Trump’s push to increase U.S. semiconductor production, but point out that building advanced chip factories requires billions of dollars in investment and could take years or even decades. Meanwhile, US companies are likely to remain dependent on imports from major Asian suppliers such as Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan, the report said.
Taiwan alone accounts for more than 90% of global production of the most advanced semiconductors.
“Recovery of semiconductor production is top priority”
White House spokesman Kush Desai said: “Reviving semiconductor manufacturing is a top priority for President Trump, whose policies have already secured hundreds of billions of dollars in investment in this key sector, adding: “The Trump administration remains focused on providing greater investment and economic assistance for the American people while protecting our national security.
“Disruption of supply chains is the central geopolitical issue of our lifeline”
Most semiconductor products and components imported from the US come from Asian trading partners. As the administration pushes to expand advanced chip manufacturing domestically, trade hawks also worry about national security risks posed by U.S. technology companies’ heavy reliance on Taiwanese semiconductors, especially in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Michael Sobolik, senior fellow at the right-leaning Hudson Institute think tank and a former adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), said, “De-risking supply chains is one of the central geopolitical issues of our lifetime.” Sobolik stated, “It’s going to be really expensive, on a large scale, to build a lot of these chips in the United States, because there are a lot of other cheaper places in the world where you can do it.”
