China imposed a 125% retaliatory tariff on all products imported from the United States yesterday in retaliation for the 145% tariff announced by President Trump two days ago. This has caused a lot of problems for chipmakers in China that import chips from companies such as Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm.
Today, the China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA) issued a notice that not all chips from American companies will be subject to the 125% tariff. China classifies imports from the country of origin of the chips, not the country of origin of the company.
AMD, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm use TSMC’s foundry in Taiwan for their chips and therefore are not subject to tariffs because China recognizes Taiwan as part of its country. Intel, Global Foundries, and Texas Instruments, on the other hand, use foundries located in the United States.