Trump’s tariffs do not apply to chips, but Taiwan remains careful

Taiwan, the center of the global supply chain for computer chips, on Thursday awakened the news that President Trump had imposed 32 percent tariffs on the island exports to the United States. Except semiconductor.

Not taking a tariff on the chip sector does not mean that they are not coming to Taiwan or elsewhere, including another major source of South Korea, Chips.

Taiwan’s companies have spent decades and billions of dollars, creating a network of factories that conduct the complex process of digging small circuits on silicon pieces.

These chips – and a wide range of electronic devices that include – are the main exports of Taiwan. And they are rapidly the focal point of Taiwan-American Geophysical Relations, which has clearly passed through a transaction innings since Sri Trump took office.

Mr. Trump has earlier stated that Taiwan had received unfair dominance in creating a semiconductor and threatened to put tariffs on the region. He has also accused Taiwan, which depends on the United States for political support against China’s claims that Taiwan is part of his region, to spend very little on his safety.

Officers and businesses in Taiwan have scrambled to soften the shock of tariff hazards in Washington. Last month, President Lai Ching-Te said that Taiwan was interested in buying natural gas from a long-lasting project in Alaska.

Weeks ago, the world’s largest chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company said it would spend $ 100 billion in the United States to expand its operation in Arizona. TSMC announced plans for the plant during Mr. Trump’s first term and former President Joseph R. Biden received a major financial assistance under Junior.

On Wednesday, announcing the tariff on Taiwan, Mr. Trump praised TSMC for investment in the United States. He and his associates are expecting other chip companies, who are committed to investing in American operations during the Biden administration, such as South Korean giants Samsung and SK Heinix and Taiwan’s global wafers, even more spending.

There are a complex goals for semiconductor tariffs because the supply chain to make them is both global and extremely specific. While most advanced chips are manufactured in Taiwan, many are sent to another country like Malaysia for testing. Subsequently, chips can be put into iPhones or artificial intelligence servers in Mexico or China, before those devices are sold to people around the world.

Jimmy Gudich, a senior advisor to technology analysis at Rand Corporation, said, “Very few semiconductors are actually imported directly into the United States; Most are included in one final product.”

A senior Fellow Martin Chorzampa of the Peterson Institute for International Economics said: “It is much more difficult to say,” We are going to slap a tariff on steel. ” ,

Even the Chips that TSMC makes in its Arizona factory is left to pack the United States to pack in other equipment, before they make it in the hands of American consumers, Ming-In Ho said, which is a non-government-friendly tank for a government-finance-provided tank in Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology, Taipei.

“Any chip that is made in Arizona, will have to leave the US for some time before going back,” said Shri Ho. “This is currently a fact of the global chip supply chain.”

Mr. Trump on Wednesday announced a 32 percent tariff on Taiwan’s goods exported to the United States, where Taiwan directly sends about a quarter of his exports. In addition to chips, which will not be taxed, Taiwan mainly exports electronic devices and components to them. The American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan said Taiwan has played an indispensable role in the US economy and urged to strengthen relations with officials in Washington and Taipei.

The Taiwan government on Thursday condemned the tariff as unfair and unfair for Taiwan. The government will hold a strong protest with the United States trade representative, Lee-Cock, for a spokesperson Taiwan’s cabinet said in a statement.

The statement said that Taiwan’s exports to the United States have increased in recent years, showing the increasing demand for advanced technology including Taiwan’s electronics and semiconductors. Chairman, Mr. Lai said that the Taiwan government was concerned about the global impact of the tariff.

Jason Hassu, a senior fellow of the Hudson Institute and former member of the Legislature of Taiwan for the opposition Nationalist Party, said, “The Taiwan government said,” Very optimistic about relations with Trump, “said. “It was a bit innocent that Trump would be good for him, especially after the announcement of TSMC.”

Chris Bakle Reporting from Taipei, Taiwan.