Howard Lutnick, the U.S. commerce secretary, warned again on the 16th (local time) that major semiconductor-producing countries, including Korea, could face a "100% semiconductor tariff" if they do not invest in the United States.
According to Bloomberg News, Minister Lutnick met with reporters at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new plant of U.S. semiconductor corporations Micron near Syracuse, New York, and said, "For everyone who wants to make memory chips, there are two choices: pay a 100% tariff, or produce in the United States."
Although Minister Lutnick did not single out specific corporations, he effectively signaled again the possibility of imposing a 100% tariff on Korea and Taiwan, given that they are major semiconductor producers.
The Donald Trump administration announced in Aug. last year a policy to impose a 100% tariff on all semiconductors entering the United States. It later postponed full implementation of the tariffs and set a policy to negotiate with exporting countries to reduce U.S. reliance on semiconductor imports.
The United States, announcing the results of a trade deal with Taiwan the day before, disclosed the conditions for a "semiconductor tariff exemption."
For Taiwanese corporations that establish semiconductor production capacity in the United States, the Trump administration decided to exempt tariffs on imports up to 2.5 times their production capacity while the construction of the facilities is underway.
For Taiwanese corporations that complete new semiconductor production facilities, it allowed imports without paying tariffs up to 1.5 times the new production capacity.
These conditions for Taiwan are expected to serve as a reference point in upcoming semiconductor talks between Korea and the United States.
Last year, Korea and the United States concluded trade talks and agreed to apply a 15% tariff to most Korean goods, but did not finalize a plan for semiconductor tariffs. At the time, Korea received a principled assurance that it would not be treated less favorably than its competitor Taiwan.
A Trump administration official, responding to a Yonhap News Agency question on whether "the United States will apply to Korea the semiconductor tariff exemption criteria agreed with Taiwan," said, "We will have separate agreements for separate countries."
This is interpreted to mean that the United States will not apply the standards used for Taiwan to Korea as is, but will determine the details through separate negotiations.