President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose tariffs as high as 100% on semiconductors produced outside the United States. This announcement was made during a GOP event at his Doral, Florida golf resort.
Trump indicated that these tariffs could also extend to certain pharmaceutical products. He emphasized that U.S. chipmakers, who typically design processors without manufacturing them, have largely shifted production to Taiwan, which he claims accounts for about 98% of the chip business.
"They left us and they went to Taiwan, and we want them to come back," Trump stated. He noted that the tariffs would serve as an incentive for companies to produce semiconductors domestically, specifying that chipmakers could avoid tariffs by manufacturing in the U.S.
Trump criticized the CHIPS Act, legislation aimed at boosting domestic chip production, which was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in August 2022. The U.S. Commerce Department had reported over $30 billion in investments from semiconductor manufacturers under this act.
Among the companies involved is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is currently constructing a chip manufacturing complex in Arizona. TSMC primarily produces advanced processors in Taiwan, while also operating several facilities for legacy node chips.
It remains uncertain whether the proposed tariffs would apply to semiconductors manufactured in other countries besides Taiwan. South Korean companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are major players in the semiconductor market, with Samsung receiving $6.4 billion in federal funding to expand its manufacturing capabilities in Texas.