U.S. President Donald Trump today said that there will be a 100 percent tariff on chips and semiconductors imported into the United States, but with a major exception.
Companies that are building in the United States, or that have made a commitment to build in the U.S., will not have to pay the tariffs. Since Apple pledged to spend $600 billion on U.S. manufacturing, the company will presumably be exempted from the planned chip tariffs.
"If you're building in the United States, or made a commitment to build or are in the process, there's no charge," Trump said. He added that if companies promise to bring manufacturing to the U.S. and don't follow through, tariffs will be "added up" and "charged at a later date."
The Trump administration exempted semiconductors and derivative products like the iPhone from reciprocal tariffs in countries like China and India, but Trump has been promising to levy high fees on chip imports.
Apple sources its chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), and there were fears that chip tariffs could have a significant impact on Apple's costs as a result. For now, it looks like Apple is going to avoid any additional tariffs on the chips that it uses for its devices. Trump made the announcement during a White House press event with Apple CEO Tim Cook, where Cook announced an additional U.S. manufacturing investment. There is no word on when semiconductor tariffs will be put in place.
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