[News] Trump Reportedly Set to Announce Chip Tariffs Soon – Nearly 20% of Taiwan’s Listed Revenue at Risk

The U.S. is set to announce the results of its Section 232 investigation into semiconductors, along with the final tariff measures. According to Economic Daily News, citing research by the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), in 2024, Exchange-listed and OTC-listed companies in Taiwan generated NTD 7.71 trillion in revenue from direct or indirect sales to the U.S., representing 17.3% of their total sales. If high tariffs are imposed, nearly 20% of this revenue could be at risk, the report suggests.

The report notes that by industry, the most severely affected would be the export-oriented electronics sector and its upstream and downstream supply chains.

Combined, the five Exchange-listed and OTC-traded industries with the highest proportion of U.S. sales—computers and peripheral equipment, semiconductors, other electronics, electronic components, and telecommunications and networking—generated NTD 7.29 trillion in revenue from the U.S., accounting for approximately 16% of total revenue, the report notes.

As per the report, the top three Exchange-listed sectors—computers and peripherals, semiconductors, and other electronics—each recorded over NTD 2 trillion in U.S. sales in 2024, positioning them as the primary industries likely to bear the brunt of potential tariffs.

The report also notes that if the U.S. adopts a “country of origin” taxation approach, Taiwanese chips exported through third countries could still be subject to tariffs. For instance, even if a laptop is shipped from Southeast Asia to the U.S., it may incur additional tariffs if its core chip originates from Taiwan. This suggests the tariff impact could ripple through to end-use markets, including laptops, smartphones, and other consumer electronics.

As the countdown to semiconductor tariffs continues, U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly claimed in a media interview yesterday that TSMC plans to invest USD 300 billion, drawing significant attention. In response, TSMC stated on the 6th that it had no comment on the matter, according to another report from Economic Daily News.

Read more

• [News] U.S. Slaps 20% Tariff on Taiwan: Foundries Unscathed, Downstream Burned—Section 232 Looms
• [News] ASML Tools Reportedly Exempt from U.S. Tariff, Easing Costs for Intel, Samsung, and TSMC

(Photo credit: The White House)