More Investment in the USA Trump Announces (Again) 100% Tariffs on Semiconductors

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Since August 6, 2025, a 15% tariff has been in effect in the USA on goods from the EU. However, US President Trump is already preparing the next broadside: He wants 100% tariffs on all semiconductor products—unless companies produce them in the USA.

Tariffs, tariffs, and more tariffs. US President Donald Trump regularly and proudly claims that the word "tariff" is one of his favorite words in the dictionary. He sees tariffs as the ultimate weapon in the economic battle against the rest of the world. He has his sights set on the chip industry in particular: At the beginning of the year, Trump publicly stated his intention to impose tariffs of up to 100% on semiconductors. The goal behind this: to stimulate domestic industry, reduce dependence on foreign imports, and encourage companies from Asia or the EU to invest in manufacturing in the USA.

As Soon As the First Tariffs Take Effect, the President Causes Confusion Again

When the sweeping attack came in April, in which numerous countries and economic areas were—seemingly arbitrarily—subjected to so-called "reciprocal tariffs," this caused confusion and uncertainty, particularly in the semiconductor market. Initially, it was stated that semiconductor products were exempt from customs duties. Then the Ministry of Commerce published a tariff list showing that this only applied to a small portion of semiconductor products—and, above all, that manufacturing equipment was not exempt. After several weeks of chaotic back-and-forth, the semiconductor issue became surprisingly quiet. Instead, negotiations were held with many countries regarding the level of the general new tariffs from the respective foreign countries.

A 15% tariff was agreed with the EU. This is now officially in effect (as of August 8, 2025). And now Trump is pulling out his old favorite topic again: semiconductor tariffs! It's supposed to be a 100% tariff surcharge on all foreign companies—yes, honestly, really! At least, that's what US President Donald Trump announced once again, this time at a press conference in the White House, which Apple CEO Tim Cook was also present. However, there is a major, serious exception: The tariffs will not apply to companies that manufacture in the US or have committed to doing so.

The "Exceptions" Would Completely Distort the Global Market

The reason for Tim Cook's attendance was actually something else: He announced that Apple would invest 100 billion USD in its production facilities in the United States over the coming years. But, of course, it wouldn't be an announcement under the Trump administration without the US President immediately claiming it for his own credit.

For companies like Apple that have committed to manufacturing in the United States, he told reporters in the Oval Office: "There will be no charge." At the same time, he issued a warning to companies that had announced investment plans in the US but—like TSMC—wanted to make this dependent on possible semiconductor tariffs (or the lack thereof): "If for any reason you say you're going to build and then you don't build, we will calculate that after the fact, it adds up, and we will bill you for the cost at a later date, you have to pay, and that's a guarantee," Trump added in his usual style.

It sounds like another bombshell—but once again, Trump has only expressed his own opinion, without this being a real government decision at this point. A formal announcement on semiconductor tariffs remains pending, and it remains unclear how this will affect companies and countries around the world. It's, once again, adding fuel to a chaotic, raging fire.

Accordingly, Trump's comments on Wednesday once again triggered an immediate flood of reactions from affected countries and business associations, as reported by the Reuters news agency. South Korea's top trade representative stated on Thursday that major chip manufacturers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix would not be subject to the 100 percent tariffs. Furthermore, South Korea had already firmly agreed, as part of a trade agreement between Washington and Seoul, that there would only be "best-case tariffs for semiconductors" between the countries.

On the other hand, the president of the Philippine semiconductor industry, Dan Lachica, stated that Trump's plan was "devastating" for his country. His counterpart from Malaysia expressed similar concerns. Both nations have increasingly established themselves in recent years as cost-effective locations for the final assembly of semiconductors, especially in the packaging sector.

Liu Chin-ching, Minister of the Taiwanese National Development Council, told reporters on Thursday that Taiwanese companies are building US factories or acquiring US companies with local factories, as well as collaborating with US chip manufacturers to counteract potential chip tariffs. If these statements are true, the Taiwanese chip contract manufacturer TSMC will likely escape relatively unscathed. After all, the company is currently investing heavily in expanding its chip production facilities in Arizona. This means that even major TSMC customers like Nvidia and AMD are likely to escape with only a few minor injuries.

It would be a prime example of extreme capitalism: Large companies that can invest billions would emerge unscathed. Small businesses, on the other hand, could be completely ruined. "Large, well-capitalized companies that can afford to manufacture in America will benefit the most. It's survival of the largest," Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at investment advisory firm Annex Wealth Management, told Reuters.

Vague, Ambiguous, And Contradictory—As Usual

And of course, one thing remains unclear: Does this only apply to individual semiconductors—or also to end products in which these semiconductors are incorporated? Sure, chips from Chinese manufacturers like SMIC or Huawei would almost certainly not be exempt. But chips from these companies are used in numerous devices or components manufactured in other Asian countries. "If these tariffs were imposed without a component tariff, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference," Martin Chorzempa, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Reuters reporters. In other words, it would be much ado about nothing.

Trump, on the other hand, remains convinced that chip companies will expand production in the US through such a drastic step. This, as many economic observers have been reiterating for months, would massively increase the prices of electronics in the US in general, since chips and end products are produced in Asia. Everything manufactured using processes below 5 nanometers currently comes exclusively from Taiwan—and the new TSMC facilities in Arizona won't change that. And industry experts consider it highly questionable whether Intel's 18-A process will have any lasting impact on this.

And, of course, it remains unclear what would happen to the tariff agreements already made with individual trade zones. After all, the EU recently agreed with the USA on a 15% tariff. This also specifically affects products like cars, medical products, and devices—and semiconductors! (sg)

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