Trump Indicates Semiconductor Tariffs to Come in Two Weeks, Hints at Levies Reaching 300%

US President Donald Trump on Friday said that he would set levies on semiconductors in the upcoming two weeks, the latest indication he’s readying a substantial expansion of his tariff regime. He further indicated that he is gearing up for a substantial expansion of his tariff regime. 

Addressing the media on Friday, Trump said, “I’ll be setting tariffs next week and the week after, on steel and on, I would, say chips — chips and semiconductors, we’ll be setting sometime next week, week after. This came while on his way to Alaska for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

According to a Bloomberg report, it was not clear if Trump misspoke about steel tariffs. Earlier, he had hiked duties on steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent in June. 

The US President has repeatedly assured that duties on chips and pharmaceuticals are coming within weeks, however no formal announcements have yet been made.

Since April, both the sectors have been under the scrutiny of the Commerce Department. This is a prerequisite for Trump to impose tariffs on national security grounds. Additionally, this process can prove complicated and probes can take months or longer to resolve. 

Manufacturers and artificial intelligence firms have been eagerly waiting to get more clarity about Trump’s plans for semiconductor rates, since chips are included in a wide range of modern consumer products.  

While addressing an event with Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook last week, Trump said that he planned a 100 per cent tariff on semiconductors, while exempting products from companies that are moving manufacturing to the US. 

However, the White House hasn’t offered a subsequent explanation for how that exemption would work, but Trump implied that Apple — which has pledged a $600 billion domestic manufacturing initiative — could be exempt. 

On Friday, Trump suggested that the duties on imported semiconductors could be even higher. He stated, “I’m going to have a rate that is going to be 200 per cent, 300 per cent?”

The US president further indicated on talking about tariffs with Putin and that he believed the Russian leader planned to bring business leaders to the summit.  

Trump said, “I noticed he’s bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that’s good I like that because they want to do business.“ However, he added, “But they’re not doing business until we get the war settled.”

Over the last few weeks, Trump had threatened to impose higher tariff rates on purchasers of Russian energy, including a pledge to impose a 50 per cent levy on goods from India. He has also suggested he could ratchet up economic costs on Moscow if the meeting does not go well.