Summary
Trump plans to impose tariffs of up to 100% on semiconductors manufactured in Taiwan, aiming to push U.S. tech companies like Apple, Nvidia, and AMD to produce chips domestically.
The tariffs target Taiwan’s TSMC, a key supplier, despite its partial U.S. production in Arizona.
Trump criticized Biden’s CHIPS Act for funding companies like Intel and proposed tariffs as an alternative incentive.
Experts warn the move could raise prices for electronics as most TSMC chips are assembled in Asia before export to the U.S.
Tariffs are the kind of tool that… is almost always the worst possible choice as a punitive action. The cost is inherently passed to the local populace. So, at best, people are deprived of a luxury. At worst, people are paying an increased cost for a necessity.
Tariffs only actually work when you already have a comparable infrastructure and are trying to force the local populace to use it. Theoretically, those are the Intel and TSMC (…) fabs in the Southwest (?). But none of them are anywhere near ready to handle the consumer electronics that consumers actually want.
And yeah. A strict tariff would not impact a case where companies two hop products (which is basically how all “made in america” stuff works but that is a different mess). That said, if the tariffs on Canada take effect Saturday, it will still be very significant costs to US consumers as anything would need to be imported from Europe (MAYBE Mexico but that adds other issues).
That said, we aren’t living in a world of laws. So “tariffs” on actual companies that are deeemed to be doing workarounds could happen. How enforceable that would be is anyone’s guess, but you can be sure that everyone will be glad to jack up their prices because Apple might have to.
I wasn’t talking about a company doing a workaround, but people buying things from lverseas instead of buying things manufactured locally that needed tariffed parts.
A company hat manufactures smart bands in the US will have to increase the price to offset the chip cost increase, but xiaomi surely won’t so the “local” choice will be even more undesirable. I know that China has a global yoke on smart bands but you get the idea.
You may want to actually read the tracking page for your international purchases. When they get held up at a port or international airport? That is when the package is being inspected. Generally it is just weighed and someone eyeballs the declaration form and says “I don’t get paid enough for this shit”. That said, order enough stuff on aliexpress and you’ll have one or two packages get held for a few days and arrive to you wrapped in duct tape.
Very short term? Yeah, you can get away with lying on declaration forms. But that “big box of books” from Taiwan is going to raise a lot of red flags and then you are in a different mess.