Trump pushes chip makers to match US production with imports or face tariffs up to 100%

The United States wants semiconductor companies to produce the same number of chips in America as they buy from overseas suppliers, or they will have to pay big tariffs on foreign purchases.

President Donald Trump keeps pushing harder to get chip makers to build their factories in the U.S. He told companies they can skip paying tariffs of around 100% on chips if they make semiconductors in America.

However, companies that can’t keep up a balanced ratio between what they make domestically and what they import will get hit with those tariffs.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick talked to chip company bosses about this idea. He said it might be needed to keep the country’s economy safe. This is Trump’s newest way to reduce America’s dependence on chips from other countries.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said America can’t keep relying on imports for semiconductors that matter for national and economic safety. But Desai also said people should treat any news about new policies as guesswork until the government makes it official.

Trump’s chip plans have already made American and foreign companies spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build bigger manufacturing operations in the U.S.

The plan would work like this: Companies that promise to make chips in America would get credit for the amount they plan to produce. This would let them keep importing chips without tariffs until their new factories are finished. They would also get extra help when they start building up their production capacity.

Industry experts say making chips 1:1 domestically isn’t easy

John Belton manages money at Gabelli Funds and owns shares in GlobalFoundries, Intel, and other American chip makers. He said the rule requiring equal production and imports would be really hard to make work.

Belton said the rule would be tough to implement and would probably take many years. He thinks it might help companies that already have factories in the U.S.

When news about this possible policy came out, stock prices went up. GlobalFoundries is the world’s third-biggest contract chip maker, and its shares jumped 5%. Intel, which has been having money problems, also saw its stock go up 5%. These two companies are some of the few chip makers that already have big manufacturing operations in America.

GlobalFoundries has its main office in Malta, New York. The company plans to spend $16 billion on expanding its factories in New York and Vermont.

The government’s push doesn’t just target American companies

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer went to Southeast Asia to talk directly to chip makers there. He met with government ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur.

Greer told Southeast Asian semiconductor companies they need to move their production to the U.S. or face punitive tariffs. His trip happened while countries in the region were trying hard to get better access to American markets. This came after Washington put tariffs of 10% to 40% on many products from the region in August.

Greer said he knows Southeast Asia is important for making chips worldwide. But he explained that worries about national security are making the Trump administration consider adding more tariffs just for chips.

After meeting with Malaysia’s trade minister, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Greer told reporters that they need to be careful about handling international trade. He said supply chains have to return to the United States.

Three weeks before Greer’s trip to Southeast Asia, President Trump had already warned companies about what was coming. He said his administration would put a tariff on semiconductors made by companies that don’t move their production to the U.S., and it would happen soon.

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