Trump’s Semiconductor Tariffs Are Just Beginning: ‘25% Is Only Phase One, Tougher Measures to Come’

[Financial News] The Donald Trump administration in the U.S. has characterized the semiconductor tariff measures announced the previous day as “phase one,” formally leaving the door open to imposing broader additional tariffs. This is being interpreted as a signal that its tariff strategy to pressure increased semiconductor manufacturing investment inside the U.S. could be expanded in stages.
On the 15th (local time), an official at The White House said that the semiconductor tariffs announced on the 14th by the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Section 232) are an “initial step.” The official added that further announcements could follow, depending on the outcome of ongoing negotiations with foreign governments and global semiconductor companies.
The official noted that President Donald Trump has repeatedly stressed the need to rebuild domestic semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure since last year. The official also recalled that Trump has previously stated in public that he could impose “100% tariffs” on imported semiconductors that are not produced in the U.S.
Earlier, on the 14th, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 25% tariff on semiconductors that are imported into the U.S. and then re-exported to third countries. The measure directly targets volumes produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) in Taiwan, brought into the U.S., and then re-exported to China and other destinations. Market observers say that Nvidia Corporation’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips, including the NVIDIA H200 GPU, could be among the main products affected.
In a fact sheet released the same day, The White House stated that “President Trump may in the near future impose broader tariffs on imports of semiconductors and semiconductor-derived products to encourage manufacturing in the U.S.” It also explicitly raised the possibility of introducing a corresponding “tariff offset program.”
The tariff offset program would exempt from tariffs, or apply preferential tariff rates to, companies that invest in semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the U.S. or channel funds into key areas of the supply chain. It is seen as a strategy to use both tariff pressure and investment incentives at the same time to pull production bases into the U.S.
Ultimately, the latest briefing largely reconfirmed what had been announced the previous day. However, the reference to negotiations with foreign governments and companies suggests that tariff exemptions or reductions could be used as bargaining chips for firms that commit to semiconductor facility investments in the U.S. Analysts say this increases the likelihood that semiconductor tariffs will not be a one-off measure, but will instead be expanded step by step as a tool of negotiating pressure.

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km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter