Overview
- USTR will keep the additional tariff on Chinese semiconductor imports at 0% for 18 months, with an increase scheduled for June 23, 2027 at a rate to be announced at least 30 days beforehand.
- The year-long Section 301 probe found China’s state-backed drive for chip dominance to be unreasonable and burdensome to U.S. commerce, focusing the action on older, foundational semiconductors.
- Any future increase would be layered on top of the existing 50% duty on Chinese chips that took effect on January 1, 2025.
- Officials have presented the delay as a way to retain leverage during talks that include rare earth export curbs and U.S. tech export rules, with a review underway on limited Nvidia AI chip shipments to China.
- Beijing says it firmly opposes the plan and warns of supply-chain disruption, while a separate Section 232 national-security review of global chip imports continues with broad new duties viewed as unlikely in the near term.