Trump Confirms Tariffs on Chips Are Coming Soon

If you thought your phones were already pretty expensive, there’s a good chance it could go up even more. This is because, according to US President Donald Trump, he says that chip tariffs are coming, and they could be as soon as next week.

Trump says chip tariffs are coming

During an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, Trump was quoted as saying, “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category, because we want them made in the United States.” Trump also said details about the chip tariffs are coming within the next week or so. However, he stopped short of sharing more information.

So, what does this mean for consumers? Depending on the companies affected and their strategies, there is a good chance we could see a price hike. This is because in addition to tariffs on semiconductors, the Trump administration has also placed tariffs on imports from foreign nations.

This means that in addition to the cost of semiconductors going up, importing anything outside of the US could be subject to a price hike as well. World leaders have been meeting with Trump to attempt to negotiate more favorable rates. Some have succeeded, while others, such as India and China, have been hit with pretty high tariffs.

Bringing back manufacturing to the US

The crux of the issue here is that Trump wants to bring manufacturing back to the US. However, the question at hand here is that is it possible? Labor costs in the US are much higher compared to countries like China, India, Vietnam, and Brazil, which are all popular locations used by many companies like Apple and Samsung.

It wouldn’t be impossible to create manufacturing facilities in the US, but it would take time. Apple has been the subject of Trump’s urging to bring iPhone manufacturing to the US. However, Apple’s current and past leaders have indicated that isn’t feasible. Countries like China not only have the skilled workers they need, but they also have the equipment Apple requires to make its iPhones.

Apple’s situation is just one example. We’re sure many other companies face similar conundrums in their logistics. However, some companies such as TSMC are making a concerted effort to open more US facilities. This could come at a cost of around an estimated increase of 20%.