Trump's semiconductor tariffs confirmed, with an exemption for chipmakers building in the US
The US is preparing tariffs on imported chips, which is bad for chipmakers that build abroad and good for those willing to spend on American factories.
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed the White House is drawing up a chip tariff plan and says every company knows it is coming.
- The deal is simple: build a plant in the US and pay nothing, stay offshore and pay to sell into the world's biggest market.
- The administration argues tariffs will lift growth, shrink the budget deficit, and pull down bond yields.
- Those yields are moving the other way — 10-year US government bond yields just hit their highest level since late 2023 in a global selloff.
- Lutnick blames weak second-quarter growth on the Supreme Court striking down the broad "reciprocal" tariffs, saying the resulting flood of imports knocked 1.6 points off GDP.
Outlook: A formal chip tariff framework looks close, and companies without US factory plans should expect to pay.