The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100% on South Korean and Taiwanese memory chip manufacturers that do not invest in the United States.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick threatened to impose customs duties of up to 100% on memory chip manufacturers in South Korea, as well as Taiwanese companies, which do not pump investments into the United States if they do not commit to expanding their production on American soil, at a time when the administration of President Donald Trump is intensifying its efforts to attract more foreign investments.
Lutnick’s statements came after his participation in the inauguration ceremony of a new factory belonging to Micron Technology near Syracuse, New York, where he explained that the potential duties stipulated in a trade agreement with Taiwan may also extend to chip manufacturing companies in South Korea.
Lutnick added, in response to a journalist’s question without referring to specific companies: “Anyone who seeks to manufacture memory chips has two options: either bear 100% customs duties, or manufacture within America. This is an industrial policy.”
These statements come as an extension of a warning issued by Lutnick on Thursday following the signing of the trade agreement with Taiwan, which grants quota-based tariff exemptions to companies committed to investing in manufacturing within the United States.
He said in an interview with CNBC: “If you do not build within America, the fees will likely reach 100%.”
