US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose 100% tax on chips imported from abroad, but operators who promised to invest in US factories and large-scale investments are exempt. Analysts believe that this will create a situation where chip operators are more powerful, and at the same time it will also push up the prices of various electronic devices for built-in chips.

WSJ's Heard on the Street column writer Asa Fitch wrote on the 7th that the situation may be bad for chip and electronic manufacturers that are smaller in size and cannot bear Trump's high exchange conditions.

Fitch said that these companies mainly supply components and various electronic devices with built-in chips, and many of their products are transported from Taiwan, Malaysia, China and other places to the United States. Trump's taxes are so high that it is likely to push up the prices of these commodities.

The problem is that chip operators must promise how much money they have to invest in the United States to obtain tax exemption qualifications. According to CNBC, James Sullivan, a responsible person of the J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific Securities Research Department, said during an interview on the 7th that this may mean that most large chip manufacturers can be exempted from taxes. If this is true, then Trump's chip tax policy will "morely increase the market advantage of the largest market value company in the industry."

Bernstein, a senior American semiconductor analyst at the American semiconductor industry, mentioned during an interview on the 7th that most American semiconductors are consumer products built into smart phones, PCs, cars and other consumer products. For example, according to information from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the United States imported US$46.3 billion in semiconductors in 2024, accounting for only about 1% of the total import volume.

Rasgon believes that if the tax is only levied on this type of imported course, the impact may be limited, but if the tax range is expanded, the impact will be even more difficult. He said that it is not clear at present whether Trump's tax levy will only lock the semiconductor system, or whether it will extend to the final product, and even the parts in the finished product will be taxed.

Extended reading: Tax-free conditions for overseas imports of US chips? Lutnik: Committed to build a factory Trump sacrifices chips 100% tax, aesthetician: NT$ may be exempted first