US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration will impose a tariff of about 100 percent on semiconductors, a move bound to impact South Korea's chip industry.
Trump made the remarks during a White House event where he announced Apple Inc.'s large-scale investment plan, as South Korean tech firms, Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., have been carefully watching his tariff policy developments.
"We'll be putting a tariff of approximately 100 percent on chips and semiconductors," he said.
Trump reiterated that if a company produces chips in the US, there will be "no charge."
"So, (a) 100 percent tariff on all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States," he said. "But if you've made a commitment to build, or if you're in the process of building, as many are, there is no tariff."
He did not elaborate on when the new tariff will go into effect, but during a CNBC interview Tuesday, he touched on a plan to announce sector-specific tariffs "within the next week or so."
To impose the tariffs, Trump has invoked Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, a law that provides the president with the authority to adjust imports into the US when he determines they threaten to impair national security.
During the White House event, Trump, alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook, unveiled the iPhone maker's commitment to invest an additional US$100 billion in the US, in addition to an earlier investment announcement of $500 billion.
Commenting on the investment plan, Trump briefly mentioned Samsung.
"These investments will directly create more than 20,000 brand-new American jobs, and many thousands more at the Apple suppliers like Corning, Broadcom, Texas Instruments and Samsung, who all deal in that world as part of this historic commitment," the president said.
In related news, Apple said on the day that it is partnering with Samsung at the latter's production facility in Austin, Texas, to launch an "innovative new technology" for making chips, which it said has never been used before anywhere in the world. (Yonhap)
