Beijing is easing retaliatory tariffs on chip and semiconductor imports from America, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) — potentially a good sign for the global chip trade.
Several industry sources shared the news with Chinese business publication Caijing, saying that eight tariff codes related to integrated circuits are exempted from the 125% tariffs it levied on U.S. goods in response to President Trump’s 145% import duty on imports from China. This does not include memory chips, however, which Chinese companies manufacture within their borders. Chinese customs also told companies that have paid import duties for the exempted goods between April 10 and 24 that they’re eligible to apply for refunds.
This might be a sign that trade relations between the U.S. and China are thawing. But Chinese authorities haven’t made a public announcement about this announcement so far, and neither has it answered SCMP’s calls to comment on the news. The China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA), representing the biggest chipmakers in the country, was also mum on the issue. Furthermore, the original report has since been deleted from the Caijing website and its official WeChat channel.
It could be that this information came from measured leaks, with the Chinese government gauging the U.S.’s reaction before making any further concrete moves. The trade war between the two economic powers has certainly upended global trade. This is especially true in the semiconductor industry, which relies on a global supply chain including the U.S. and China.
It is especially true in advanced chips, with the Nvidia H20 chip still selling well despite being watered down to comply with export restrictions. The White House recently added AMD’s MI308 to its list of banned exports, leading to a more than $6-billion write-off for Nvidia and AMD, showing how dependent some Chinese tech companies are on American products.
While Trump began the trade war escalation by putting tariffs on the entire world, he was also the first to blink by exempting computers, smartphones, and other tech-related goods from China. The U.S. imports the majority of several consumer electronics from China, including game consoles, PC monitors, smartphones, lithium-ion batteries, and laptops.
This meant that American consumers and businesses would be gravely impacted by the current 245% tariff (which jumped from 145%) that Trump placed on all Chinese goods. So this exemption is crucial to the public to ensure they can continuously purchase tech goods without paying through the nose.
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