The U.S. government is reportedly pushing a plan to exempt semiconductors from the tariff for Big Tech corporations such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft (MS) that are expanding artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The policy is being pursued in connection with the Taiwan foundry (contract chip manufacturing) corporation TSMC's U.S. investment pledge.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 9th (local time), citing sources, that the U.S. Department of Commerce is planning a semiconductor exemption plan of this kind. As a result, there is analysis that corporations involved in the domestic "AI expansion" in the United States that rely on imported semiconductors could get some breathing room. FT noted, however, that U.S. President Donald Trump has not signed it, so the plan is currently fluid.
If the plan is implemented, TSMC could allocate the exempted amount from the next tariff imposed to its customers in the United States. U.S. Big Tech would also be able to import semiconductors without tariffs.
Earlier, Taiwan pledged a $250 billion (about 365 trillion won) semiconductor investment plan in the United States. TSMC will be responsible for $165 billion (about 241 trillion won) of that. In response, the U.S. government decided to lower reciprocal tariffs to 15%. Under the bilateral agreement, Taiwan corporations, including TSMC, will be exempted from tariffs in proportion to their planned production volume in the United States.
The White House said that, specifically, Taiwan corporations building semiconductor plants in the United States will be allowed duty-free exports up to 2.5 times the new plant's production capacity during construction, and Taiwan corporations that have already completed plants in the United States can export up to 1.5 times their production capacity without paying tariffs. TSMC can distribute the tariff exemptions secured under the U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement to its Big Tech clients in the United States, helping those corporations import its semiconductors duty-free.
The scale and scope of duty-free semiconductor imports for U.S. Big Tech depend on TSMC's future production capacity in the United States. An official in the Trump administration told FT, "We will monitor with an eagle eye the developments after we released this plan," adding, "Let me be clear that this is not a free gift to TSMC."