特朗普政府据报考虑扩大半导体关税且可能取消数据中心等豁免

The Trump administration is thinking about a new round of tariffs on semiconductors, Politico reported, citing people with knowledge of the discussions, despite warnings from tech companies that the move could hamper U.S. efforts of dominating the AI race.
One tariff approach under consideration would expand the number of tech products subject to the duties, impacting not just chips but potentially many of the goods made with them, like laptops, gaming consoles, or the servers that fill data centers, the report added.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick favors a structure that would tie foreign companies' relief from the tariffs to investment in U.S. chip manufacturing to boost more local production, the report noted.
The administration is also discussing a phase-in period for the new tariffs. The people noted that that the framework could still be substantially revised in the coming weeks or months, according to the report.
The potential for new tariffs on chips is worrying the U.S. tech industry, which is already facing a shortage of high-end semiconductors amid surging demand driven by the construction of data centers used for AI.
Advocates for the sector say they are not against Trump’s goal of building more of those components on U.S. soil but noted that advanced chip factories cost billions of dollars and take years, if not decades, to build. Until that capacity exists, U.S. companies will remain heavily reliant on imported chips from Asian suppliers, including Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan, which alone produces over 90% of the world’s most cutting-edge semiconductors, the report added.
The White House and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha's request for comment.
In a statement to the news outlet, the White House defended its use of trade policy to strengthen domestic industry.
"Reshoring semiconductor manufacturing is a top priority for President Trump, whose policies have already secured hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in this key sector," said White House spokesperson Kush Desai. "The Trump administration remains focused on delivering more investments and economic relief for the American people while safeguarding our national security."
Tech companies have started lobbying in hopes of convincing the Trump administration to scale back the expected tariffs so they more closely mirror duties the president released earlier this year, which included broad exemptions for data centers and other local uses, limiting their impact.
Besides Lutnick, tech industry representatives and lobbyists have met with senior officials — including Commerce Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler, who heads the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security — several times since the start of summer, the report noted.
The lobbyists noted that the tariffs would slow the data center expansion by making it difficult for U.S. companies to get the volume of chips that the AI boom requires. The duties would hit just as U.S. tech giants are on a record-setting AI spending spree, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into data centers and accessing the pricey, cutting-edge chips needed to operate them.
Many lobbyists think that Kessler showed more sympathy to the industry’s concerns but noted that the final decision remains with Lutnick and that the undersecretary was unlikely to meaningfully challenge his direction.
Recent discussions have trended in a negative direction for the industry, the people said, after Trump administration officials indicated it may no longer support exemptions like those included with the January tariffs — not just for data centers, but research and development, startups, consumer applications, civil industrial applications, and public sector uses, and "other uses" that the Commerce secretary concludes will bolster the U.S. supply chain, the report added.
Commerce Department officials are saying in private discussions that they need to apply the tariffs more broadly on companies to push chipmakers to expand manufacturing in the U.S. Under the system that Lutnick favors, the U.S. would let a set volume of chips enter the country duty-free, with the size of that allowance linked to how much companies commit to making on U.S. soil — a structure that risks widening the gap between the supply of tariff-free chips and the volume U.S. companies need, the report noted.
People close to the talks said Commerce Department officials have yet to settle on the precise rate of the tariffs or other vital details. One idea under consideration would set separate tariff rates and quotas for individual countries, with country-specific guidance covering their major chipmakers, the report added.