US President Donald Trump today announced the imposition of a 100% import tariff on all chips and semiconductors brought into the country, except for companies that have or are building production facilities in the US.
According to him, the tough measure is aimed at encouraging domestic investment and reducing the country's dependence on strategic chip production from abroad.
However, the statement has not yet been officially announced, and so far no further details on its implementation have been revealed.
The measure is expected to have a major impact on Chinese companies such as SMIC and Huawei, since their chips will not be exempted from the new tariffs.
On the other hand, companies that have invested in the US such as TSMC and Nvidia are expected to be unaffected. TSMC, for example, has a production plant in the country, while Nvidia is planning large-scale investments in US-made chip and electronics production over the next four years.
Analysts believe the new policy will give an advantage to tech giants that have the financial capacity to open factories in the US, thus strengthening their position in the global market.
At the same time, several major chip-producing countries such as South Korea, Japan and the European Union have reportedly signed trade agreements with the US, which give them tariff privileges of around 15% for exports of chips and other products.
