The U.S. Donald Trump administration is reportedly reviewing a new tariff pressure card to spur semiconductor corporations to expand production in the United States.
On the 26th (local time), the U.S. daily Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing multiple sources, that it is reviewing a plan to mandate that semiconductor corporations match the ratio of chips manufactured in the United States to those imported from overseas plants at 1-to-1. It added that, in the long term, corporations that fail to meet this ratio would be subject to tariff imposition.
For example, if corporation A promises to produce 1 million semiconductors in the United States, A and its client companies would receive duty-free benefits for the same quantity of semiconductors—this is the core of the plan. However, it also means A must speed up the completion of its local U.S. plant to meet the promised U.S. production volume (1 million units).
The WSJ analyzed that such a policy could work favorably for U.S. corporations like Micron and GlobalFoundries, and for Taiwan's TSMC, which are expanding production in the United States. The view is that these corporations' U.S. production capacity could serve as a bigger "lever" in negotiations with client companies.
By contrast, the WSJ projected it could be a burden for IT corporations such as Apple and Dell Technologies. That is because these corporations import products that contain a variety of semiconductors produced around the world.
The WSJ said, "If this plan materializes, corporations would have to track the country of manufacture for all semiconductors, and they may increasingly need to work with semiconductor corporations to match the quantities of U.S.-made and imported chips."
Earlier, on the 6th last month at a White House event announcing Apple's plan for U.S. facility investment, President Trump said, "We will impose about a 100% tariff on semiconductors," adding that "all integrated circuits (chips) and semiconductors" entering the United States would be subject to the levy. Even then, he added, "If you build (a semiconductor manufacturing plant) in the United States, it will not be imposed."