US Trade Representative: Still considering imposing chip tariffs, but will not immediately implement an offset mechanism to attract the construction of factories

The Zhitong Finance App learned that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (Jamieson Greer) said while attending the Micron Technology (MU.US) Manassas factory expansion event in Virginia that the Trump administration is still weighing plans to impose additional tariffs on imported semiconductors to promote the development of the local chip manufacturing industry, but there are currently no immediate plans to implement the new tariffs.

Greer stressed that imposing tariffs on semiconductors is “very important,” but what is more critical is “advancing at the right time and at the right scale to promote the return of manufacturing.” He made it clear that tariffs will not be “immediately” imposed “tomorrow or next week,” and revealed that the government is continuing discussions with the industry on the timing and scope of the tariffs and is designing an “offset mechanism” — that is, companies that build factories in the US can receive a certain percentage of the import quota during the return of manufacturing. “We are committed to supporting the actions of Micron and others in the semiconductor industry.”

This statement continues the tone of the Trump administration's semiconductor trade policy since the beginning of 2026. On January 14 of this year, the US White House issued a presidential decree imposing 25% ad valorem tariffs on some imported advanced computing chips, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and derivatives on national security grounds. The policy officially came into effect on January 15. According to the US Department of Commerce's 232 survey report, the US consumes about a quarter of the world's semiconductors, but it can only produce about 10% of local demand, which poses a significant security threat to dependence on foreign supply chains.

It is worth noting that the first phase of the 25% tariff has extensive exemptions, including chips used in US data center construction, local R&D, and consumer sectors that are exempt from taxation. At the same time, the White House announced that the second phase will implement “significant tax rates” on a wider range of semiconductor products after completing negotiations with relevant countries and regions, and support tariff deduction plans to encourage local investment.

Under policy guidance, memory chip giants are speeding up the deployment of production capacity in the US. Sanjay Mehrotra (Sanjay Mehrotra), president and CEO of Micron Technology, said at the event that the company's plans to expand production in the US will add additional production capacity to meet the surge in demand for memory chips driven by the wave of artificial intelligence (AI). He expects the shortage of memory chips “to continue beyond 2026,” and the company is signing long-term supply agreements with customers to ensure predictable supply. Driven by AI demand, Micron's stock price has risen more than 163% since this year.

Micron has promised to invest about 200 billion US dollars in manufacturing and R&D in the US, of which more than 2 billion US dollars will be invested in the expansion of the Virginia plant, which will support more than 3,100 jobs. The plant officially began mass production of 1α DRAM on May 22. This is the most advanced storage technology manufactured in the US, and it is expected that qualified mass production certification will be completed by the end of 2026. Micron's US investment plans also cover projects in Idaho and New York, which together are expected to create around 90,000 jobs.

Greer confirmed the investment of companies such as Micron at the event: “Our expectation is that you need to build a factory here, and then there will be some kind of coefficient or multiplier — if you build a factory here, then you can import a certain amount during the manufacturing return phase.”

South Korea's two largest memory chip giants are facing even more pressing tariff pressure. In January of this year, US Secretary of Commerce Lutnick clearly warned at the groundbreaking ceremony of Micron's New York plant: “All memory chip manufacturers have only two choices — pay 100% tariffs or manufacture in the US.” This statement directly pressured Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.US) and SK Hynix. According to analyst estimates, Samsung has promised to invest about 37 billion US dollars in foundry business in the US, while SK Hynix has invested about 3.9 billion US dollars to build an advanced packaging factory in Indiana, but neither company has established mass production lines for DRAM memory chips in the US.

Recent developments show that SK Hynix's first US semiconductor factory in Indiana officially broke ground on April 17, 2026, mainly for the production of next-generation high-bandwidth memories such as HBM4E and HBM5. It is expected to be put into operation in the second half of 2028; Samsung is building a logic chip factory in Austin. However, in the field of high-end memory chip manufacturing in the US, Micron is still the only company that has achieved mass production of local DRAM.