US weighs a new round of tariffs on semiconductors, says report

The Trump administration is considering a new round of sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, Politico reported on Thursday citing eight people familiar with discussions.

A new tariff ‌proposal ⁠could tax ⁠a wider range of tech goods. Instead of ​just targeting microchips, the duties would also apply to ​products that use them, such as laptops, gaming consoles, and data center servers, the ​report said.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ⁠favors a ‌structure that will tie foreign ​companies' ​relief from the tariffs to investment ⁠in U.S. chip manufacturing to boost local ​production, the report said.


Washington is also ​mulling a phase-in period for the new tariffs and the framework could still be substantially revised in the coming weeks or months, Politico reported.

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Reuters could not immediately ‌verify the report. The White House and the U.S. Commerce Department did ​not ​immediately respond to ⁠requests for comment. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in May there were no imminent new U.S. ​tariffs expected to be imposed on semiconductors, but that it was important to protect the sector with duties to facilitate reshoring of chip production.