President Donald Trump’s administration announced Tuesday that it would impose tariffs on Chinese imports of semiconductors due to Beijing’s “unreasonable” quest for dominance in the chip sector, but would postpone the measure until June 2027.
The tariff rate will be announced at least 30 days in advance, according to the document, which follows “a year-long investigation into unfair trade practices launched by former President Joe Biden’s administration into Chinese exports of ‘legacy’ chips or older technologies” to the United States.
“China’s targeting of the semiconductor sector for its dominance is unreasonable and burdensome or restrictive of U.S. commerce and therefore actionable,” the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement.
The Chinese embassy in Washington has expressed opposition to any tariffs.
“The politicization, instrumentalization and weaponization of trade and technology issues as well as the destabilization of global industrial and supply chains will benefit no one and will ultimately backfire,” he said in a statement to Reuters.
“We will take all necessary measures to firmly protect our legal rights and interests,” he added.
The move, which preserves Trump’s ability to impose tariffs, aims to “reduce tensions with Beijing over Chinese export restrictions on Chinese-controlled rare earth metals that global technology companies depend on.”
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