[New York = E-Daily Correspondent Seong Joowon ] The Trump administration is preparing new semiconductor tariffs that link investment in U.S. production to tariff benefits. The plan would grant tariff reductions or exemptions to companies that build semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the U.S., while imposing tariffs on companies that do not produce in the U.S. The administration is also considering expanding the scope of tariffs to include not only semiconductors themselves but also products containing semiconductors, such as data center servers and laptops.

According to CNBC and Bloomberg on the 2nd (local time), U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnick announced at the G20 Innovation Ministers’ Meeting held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that the Trump administration is preparing a new semiconductor tariff system.
Secretary Luttnik said, “It will be a targeted and measured tariff policy,” adding, “Basically, if you produce in the U.S., you won’t pay tariffs, but if you don’t produce in the U.S., you must be prepared to pay tariffs to enter the world’s largest market.”
When asked about speculation that the policy would link investments in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing facilities to tariff reductions, he confirmed, “That is exactly right.” “If you produce in the U.S., you will receive tariff relief; if you do not produce in the U.S., you will have to pay tariffs,” he said. Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is considering a structure similar to the one applied to the pharmaceutical industry.

Tariff Incentives Tied to U.S. Production Investment… “Carrot and Stick”

The core of the semiconductor

tariff

plan envisioned by the Trump administration is not simply to impose uniform tariffs on imports, but to provide incentives to companies that increase production in the U.S. In effect, tariffs are being used as

a “stick”

to pressure global semiconductor companies into investing in the U.S.
Secretary Luttnick argued that this policy is already yielding results. He cited examples such as Taiwan’s TSMC—the world’s largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer)—which is planning a total investment of $265 billion (approximately 360.35 trillion won) in the U.S., centered in Arizona, and U.S. memory chipmaker Micron, which plans to invest more than $250 billion in the U.S. by 2035.
Secretary Rutnick emphasized that investment commitments for semiconductor production in the U.S. total $1.2 trillion. He projected that the U.S. share of advanced semiconductor production could rise to 40 percent and, if Intel’s production expansion is successful, could reach 50 percent.
However, this is merely a projection presented by Secretary Rutnick, and it remains uncertain when—if ever—the U.S. share of advanced semiconductor production will actually reach this level.

Tariffs Under Review: Beyond Semiconductors to Servers and Laptops

There is also a possibility that the scope of tariffs could be significantly expanded. The U.S. political news outlet Politico recently reported that the Trump administration is considering a plan to include not only semiconductors themselves but also finished products—such as data center servers, laptops, and game consoles—that contain semiconductors in the tariff list.
Bloomberg also reported that new tariffs could expand from semiconductors to products containing them, potentially affecting U.S. imports of data center servers and consumer electronics.
Last January, the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on certain advanced computing chips, such as the NVIDIA H200, and related products. However, it granted exemptions for certain uses, such as those in U.S. data centers. At the time, the White House signaled that it might introduce a “tariff offset program” in the future—one that would apply preferential tariffs to companies investing in the U.S. semiconductor industry, alongside broader semiconductor tariffs.
The specific tariff rates, implementation timeline, and criteria for exemptions for U.S. investment companies have not yet been disclosed. Therefore, it remains unclear at this time what level of local production or investment is required to qualify for tariff benefits, even for companies with production facilities in the U.S.
This could also have a direct impact on the South Korean semiconductor industry. As domestic semiconductor companies such as SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660) are expanding their manufacturing and packaging investments in the U.S., the benefits of investing in the U.S. and the tariff burden on semiconductors produced in South Korea and exported to the U.S. may vary depending on the future criteria for tariff exemptions. Depending on how the specific tariff rates and exemption criteria are designed, this is expected to affect not only the global semiconductor supply chain but also the U.S. investment strategies of SamsungElectronics and SK hynix.