2026.01.1500:26:48UTC+00Trump Imposes 25% Tariff on Imports of Some AI Chips

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on specific AI chips, including Nvidia's H200 AI processor and AMD's MI325X, under a newly issued national security order from the White House, as reported by Reuters. This decision comes after a nine-month investigation pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. It targets numerous high-performance semiconductors that meet certain benchmarks, along with devices embedding these chips, for import tariffs. The move is aimed at encouraging chip production within the United States to lessen dependency on manufacturers from regions like Taiwan. The proclamation states, "Currently, the United States manufactures only about 10% of the chips it needs, resulting in a substantial reliance on foreign supply chains," highlighting that this dependency represents a notable economic and national security vulnerability.