Home > National > Diplomacy

Trump gov't will seek 'separate' semiconductor tariff agreements for separate countries: U.S. official

Published: 17 Jan. 2026, 10:56 Updated: 17 Jan. 2026, 14:10

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a ceremony held to dedicate a 4-mile stretch of road from West Palm Beach Airport to his Mar-a-Lago estate as 'President Donald J. Trump Boulevard' at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 16. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will seek “separate” semiconductor tariff agreements for “separate countries,” a U.S. official said on Friday after the United States and Taiwan reached a deal on the chip levies this week.

“Separate agreements for separate countries,” a U.S. official said, responding to a question from Yonhap News Agency regarding whether the deal with Taiwan will set a standard for chip tariffs, or if the U.S. will conduct separate negotiations with other countries for the sectoral tariffs.

The official's remarks came a day after the U.S. Commerce Department released a fact sheet about a trade and investment deal between the United States and Taiwan, which outlined a bilateral agreement on semiconductor tariffs.

According to the fact sheet, Taiwanese companies building new U.S. semiconductor capacity may import up to 2.5 times that planned capacity without paying sectoral duties during the approved construction period.

Taiwanese companies that have completed new chip production projects in the United States will still be able to import 1.5 times their new U.S. production capacity without paying sectoral duties.

The agreement on the chip tariffs raised questions over whether it will set a standard for chipmakers from other countries, including Korea.

On Wednesday, Trump signed a proclamation to levy a 25 percent tariff on certain semiconductors for artificial intelligence, which are imported into the United States and then re-exported to other countries.

The White House has also said that Trump may impose “broader” tariffs on imports of semiconductors and their derivative products.

The president has rolled out various industrywide tariffs, invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, a law that provides the president with the authority to adjust imports into the United States when he determines they threaten to impair national security.

Yonhap