Overview
- U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters at a Micron memory‑chip expansion outside Washington that there will be no immediate tariffs on semiconductors.
- Greer stressed that protecting U.S. chip manufacturing matters but that any trade measures must be timed and sized carefully to avoid harming supply chains.
- He signaled that the administration could still use Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which allows duties on imports judged to threaten national security.
- South Korean producers such as Samsung and SK hynix are watching U.S. policy closely after a prior U.S.‑South Korea agreement promised Korea tariff terms that are "no less favorable."
- A threat by President Trump last year to impose steep semiconductor duties underscores the stakes for global suppliers and could raise diplomatic and market risks if the U.S. moves to apply sectoral tariffs.