The U.S. Trade Representative Office (USTR) recently announced that it will impose tariffs on about 34 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese imports, including semiconductor products, with a tariff of 25%.
The tariff will take effect on July 6, 2018, covering products imported from China, including testing equipment and spare parts. USTR also proposed an additional $16 billion in merchandise tariffs, including chemicals and machines and spare parts used to make semiconductor devices, wafers, flat panel displays, and masks, all of which will directly hit the semiconductor industry. The products identified in this new list are specifically targeted at benefiting from China’s industrial policies, such as “Made in China 2025” products. SEMI will oppose these tariffs with written comments and upcoming public hearings.
In the past month, SEMI submitted written comments and provided evidence on the devastating effects of tariffs on the US semiconductor industry. Although SEMI strongly supports efforts to better protect valuable intellectual property, it believes that these tariffs will not help solve the U.S. concerns about China’s trade practices. Instead, tariffs can harm companies in the semiconductor supply chain by increasing business costs, introducing uncertainty and stifling innovation.
