Donald Trump Confirms Chip Tariffs Will Be Implemented Soon

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that a new tariff for semiconductors and chips (photo: x @finn_elliot01)

JAKARTA US President Donald Trump has confirmed that a new tariff for semiconductors and chips will be implemented soon, even as soon as next week. This move is part of his plans to push manufacturing back into the United States.

This policy has the potential to cause price increases in electronic devices, including smartphones, especially if the company decides to charge increasing imports of chips and foreign production to consumers.

If you feel the price of mobile phones is already expensive, there is a high probability that the price will rise even higher. This is because according to the US President, Donald Trump, chip rates are coming soon, and could be enforced within one week.

In an interview with the "Squawk Box" show on CNBC, Trump was quoted as saying, "We will announce about semiconductors and chips, which are separate categories, because we want them to be made in the United States." Trump also added that details regarding chip rates will be delivered in the next one or two weeks. However, he did not provide more detailed information.

Then, what does this mean for consumers? Depending on the companies affected and their strategy, there is a high probability that we will see price increases. This is because apart from tariffs on semiconductors, the Trump administration has also imposed tariffs on imports from other countries.

This means that in addition to rising semiconductor costs, importing anything from outside the US can also be subject to price increases. World leaders have met with Trump to try to negotiate more lucrative rates. Some succeeded, while others, such as India and China, were actually subject to a fairly high tariff.

Bring Back Manufacturing To The US

The essence of this problem is that Trump wants to bring back manufacturing to the US. However, the question that arises is, is that possible? Labor costs in the US are much higher than countries like China, India, Vietnam, and Brazil, all of which are popular locations used by many companies such as Apple and Samsung.

Building manufacturing facilities in the US is not impossible, but it will take time. Apple has been the subject of Trump's insistence on bringing iPhone manufacturing to the US. However, Apple's current and previous leaders have stated that it is not feasible. Countries like China not only have the skilled workers they need, but they also have the equipment Apple needs to make their iPhones.

Apple's situation is just one example. Many other companies face similar dilemmas in their logistics. However, some companies such as TSMC are working hard to open more facilities in the US. This may come with an estimated cost of an increase of around 20%.