President-elect Donald Trump is an unpredictable man. The return of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States could impact Samsung, SK Hynix, and TSMC’s semiconductor ambitions and we wish the best for the manufacturers.
CHIPS Gone, Tariff On?
During the election campaign, Donald Trump threatened to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act introduced by Joe Biden. The act aims to provide billions of dollars of federal subsidies to semiconductor vendors to boost localization.
Rather than repealing the CHIPS Act, Trump may cut subsidies for chipmakers and raise tariffs on outsiders such as TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix. Korean firms should leverage AI chip expertise and further bolster ties with the new US administration.
Taiwan’s TSMC is apparently on Trump’s radar, with Samsung and SK Hynix could also face the heat in the future. If Trump revokes the CHIPS Act, these firms will lose access to potential subsidies to establish production plans on American soil.
Trump has called the act “so bad,” and insisted that imposing tariffs is the way to push companies to build chip factories in the US, rather than providing subsidies and tax credits. Notably, Samsung is eligible for up to $6.4 billion in subsidies against its $45 billion chip foundry.
Trump’s comeback could shape Samsung’s semiconductor future
In case Trump’s actions target TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chip maker, new opportunities will born for Samsung Elec and the US-based Micron. Meanwhile, the potential impact will only be determined once Trump takes over Biden in January.
Trump’s envisioned high tariff policy and decoupling strategy to isolate China from the global supply chain is expected to have both benefits and challenges for Korean chipmakers.
However, Korean chipmakers could benefit in the long term when Trump’s high tariffs on chips made outside of the US force companies to produce chips on American soil.
The post How will Donald Trump’s return impact Samsung’s semiconductor ambitions? appeared first on Sammy Fans.
