Team Trump readies national security card to justify taxing Americans for foreign chips
- Reference: 1744742261
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/04/15/commerce_dept_chips_tariffs/
- Source link:
The move is a likely precursor to sticking steep tariffs on imported chips: The Trump administration has been applying [1]similar levies to foreign goods ostensibly to, among other things, encourage more manufacturing on American soil.
Public notice of the investigation will be published in Wednesday's edition of the Federal Register. In a [2]pre-publication copy of the notice available for review now, the US Department of Commerce explained it was seeking public comment on the matter as it seeks to "determine the effects on national security of imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) and their derivative products."
[3]
Per the notice, derivative products include things "that contain semiconductors," so if any tariffs do result from the investigation, expect electronics that include foreign-made chips (yes, [4]iPhones ) to be affected, too.
Unpredictability is undermining long-term investment and growth
The Trump regime [5]lifted tariffs on a number of imports – including computer equipment – last week, but with the added caveat that it fully intended to bring the tariffs back within a couple of months. The President also warned tariffs were coming for chips specifically. This investigation seems to be the beginning of that effort, with the White House using a familiar measure to legitimize potential tariffs on the semiconductor sector.
Like it did with [6]steel, aluminum and [7]automotive tariffs, the federal government is using the Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the President to enact tariffs for national security reasons.
[8]
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The shift from using a declaration of national emergency to the more specific concerns about national security "reveals the administration's desire for a more durable justification," Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro [10]said of the news. "But claiming that downstream consumer tech products qualify as 'semiconductors' is a stretch."
As for particularities, the notice said it's looking for public feedback not only on the security risks of importing semiconductors, but the country's potential to handle domestic production of affected chips as well, which ties in with Trump's previous justification of tariffs as a way to bulk up, or in a lot of cases jumpstart, US manufacturing.
[11]
US semiconductor manufacturing has seen a boost in recent years with the Biden-era CHIPS Act and commitments from multinationals like TSMC and Samsung to build chip plants in the US. As we've noted before, however, those plants can take years to come online, and both super-corps have been [12]hesitant to bring leading-edge chip manufacturing to the US.
[13]Trump's tariff turmoil leaves IT projects in deep freeze
[14]China ups tariffs on US goods to 125%, calls Trump's war a 'joke'
[15]Infosec experts fear China could retaliate against tariffs with a Typhoon attack
[16]South Korea reports tech exports surged ahead of Trump tariffs
In other words – and forgive us for sounding a bit like a broken record – buyers will feel the pinch if the Trump administration uses this investigation to enact semiconductor tariffs; the extra levies will be passed onto them. Amazon [17]expects this to happen. Meanwhile, the randomness of the tariff strategy thus far will forestall any big US reindustrialization, according to Shapiro.
"Unpredictability is undermining long-term investment and growth," Shapiro said.
"More, high production costs and a limited skilled workforce make domestic manufacturing of consumer tech challenging," the CTA CEO added. "To support US innovation and competitiveness, we need a smarter, targeted trade strategy where we team up with allies to compete with China."
The public comment period for the investigation will last for 21 days from publication of the order, which is scheduled for Wednesday. Section 232 investigations are designed to take no longer than 270 days. The Trump administration also released an advance copy of [18]another Section 232 investigation that could preempt tariffs yesterday targeting the pharmaceutical industry.
[19]
The Commerce Department declined to comment on this story. ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/09/iphones_manufacture_unlikely_in_us/
[2] https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2025-06591/national-security-investigation-of-imports-of-semiconductors-and-semiconductor-manufacturing
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z_7XBIOb-PiwZXnJL867zQAAAEU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/09/iphones_manufacture_unlikely_in_us/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/14/tech_tariff_update/
[6] https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-restores-section-232-tariffs/
[7] https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-adjusts-imports-of-automobiles-and-automobile-parts-into-the-united-states/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z_7XBIOb-PiwZXnJL867zQAAAEU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z_7XBIOb-PiwZXnJL867zQAAAEU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.cta.tech/press-releases/cta-ceo-tech-exclusion-not-a-permanent-solution
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z_7XBIOb-PiwZXnJL867zQAAAEU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/28/trump_tariffs_semiconductors/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/14/trump_trade_war_jefferies/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/11/china_tariffs_latest/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/10/trade_war_reaches_cyberspace/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/15/south_korea_tech_exports_surge/
[17] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/10/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-says-he-believes-sellers-will-pass-increased-tariff-costs-on-to-consumers.html
[18] https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2025-06587/national-security-investigation-of-imports-of-pharmaceuticals-and-pharmaceutical-ingredients
[19] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z_7XBIOb-PiwZXnJL867zQAAAEU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Taxiffs on everything.
I remember after the Brexit vote not feeling a lot of sympathy because they will have got what they voted for. Well now the shoe's on the other foot and I'm getting to watch my own country crater things much worse than Brexit did if Trump isn't stopped.
I have found that I don't really care that much. I've never been particularly patriotic, and I kind of feel that if this is what people voted for they need to get it so they can find out how stupid they were. A world where the US has a lot less power and influence is probably a good thing anyway, so long as it isn't replaced by a world where China takes America's place that regard. It is ironic that by taking more power for himself domestically, Trump is greatly reducing his power and influence over the rest of the world. He's far too much of a simpleton to realize that, he thinks power comes from military might but you have to be willing to go into a shooting war to exercise such power. US presidents have for decades been able to exert a lot of power and influence across the globe using "soft power", but Trump has pretty much permanently discarded the entire US supply of soft power in less than three months.
If things get bad I'll leave the US behind and not shed a tear if it turns into some sort of Gilead or an empire in permanent decline. I won't consider it to be me abandoning the US, because the US will have abandoned me first.
America fiddles
while Trump burns it.
“…… but the country's potential to handle domestic production of affected chips as well,….”
Well that’s effectively zero, at least at scale and the types of chips needed. And it’s not just building the foundries, which takes years, but who staffs them, who runs them?
Does the US have the number of qualified engineers to do this, can you train people, who trains them? Is this seen as a ‘good’ career choice; maybe becoming yet another lawyer is more lucrative? Always need more lawyers!
Update the education system, push STEM subjects more, how about State or Federal funded college degree courses for certain disciplines?
And that’s going to take a decade!
Re: Better education from this lot?
"Update the education system, push STEM subjects more, how about State or Federal funded college degree courses for certain disciplines?"
I understand the current administration is working hard to destroy the existing universities and abolish the department of education. Oh, and empty the libraries.
I am not quite understanding how this strategy improves the workforce to get the skills to build the hypermodern factories that will produce the new semiconductors.
It might be the ultimate masterplan balancing act to keep the population ignorant enough to vote MAGA and skilled enough to produce high tech.
Or, maybe, this just incompetence?
"And that’s going to take a decade!"
But ill achieve more. At least more of what he claims to want.
How hard is it to compromise chips?
When a chip is designed in the US but fabricated elsewhere, how hard is it to verify (by inspecting a random sample) that the samples match the design?
If this is done, and the malicious fabricator expects it to be done, how hard/costly is it to manufacture a small number of trojan horses and hide them in a large batch?
This approach obviously makes it less likely that a bad chip will be used in a sensitive system. To what extent does that make the technique effectively useless?
What sort of chip (CPU, GPU, other) is the best target for attack?
nice title nice tag line
thanks for the chuckle... we need it.
ARM?
An original ARM design, manufactured in the USA - i.e. "foreign" IP - does the tax apply?
Re: ARM?
No...yes...no...yes in fact double, no 1,000,000%, no 5%, yes but not for 30 days, no i never said thirty days its 100% today.
Think of the Children/National Security
It is obvious from this article that these national security risks are just sorry excuses to raise taxes, eh tariffs.
They really, really need the money.
Trump chips are coming, made in USA
They'll have slower clock speeds than current chips though.
About 566 MagaHurtz.
i want my own chips
Even thought I don't agree with the current totalitarium US gov, this is exactly what I would do, world powers should never rely on chips whether cpu/gpu .... made elsewhere. Doesn't matter how hard or easy it is to spot any spyware, the number one goal would be only trust what YOU make and nothing else.
The levels of sophistication required to add spyware are going to get easier and being able to spot it probably harder, so best to avoid the situation. Then again I guess if it's home made you have to trust the people making it as well, first thing don't let it fall into foreign hands.
For all major world leaders this is not a choice , it's a neccessity and should be given highest mandates and budgets , going into the future this will lead into much faster, better and more accurate AI/AGI/ASI/ML espeically , where it gets deployed first - in the military.
Re: i want my own chips
I was going to agree with you, but then you started mentioning AI and AGI, do with the greatest respect, so you can fuck right off.
Re: i want my own chips
I think this is one where Poe's law applies if you check his posting history.
Taxiffs on everything.
Making Americans poorer again. Nobody damages your economy and society quite like a nationalist. It happened in the UK, now it is happening in the US.