Trump to announce tariffs on imported chips

US President Donald Trump Sunday said he would be announcing the tariff rate on imported semiconductors over the next week, adding that there would be flexibility with some companies in the sector.

- REUTERS

The president’s pledge means that the exclusion of smartphones and computers from his reciprocal tariffs on China likely will be short-lived as Trump looks to reset trade in the semiconductor sector.

“We wanted to uncomplicate itfrom a lot of other companies, because we want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled back to Washington from his estate in West Palm Beach.

Trump declined to say whether some products such as smartphones might still end up being exempted, but added, “You have to show a certain flexibility. Nobody should be so rigid.”

Earlier in the day, Trump announced a national security trade probe into the semiconductor sector.