The U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, stated during an event for the expansion of Micron Technology's (MU.US) plant in Manassas, Virginia, that the Trump administration is still evaluating options to impose tariffs on imported semiconductors to boost domestic chip manufacturing, but there are no immediate plans to implement new tariffs. Greer emphasized that tariffs on semiconductors are "very important," but the critical factor is "implementing them at the right time and at the right magnitude to encourage manufacturing reshoring." He clarified that tariffs would not be imposed "immediately, tomorrow or next week" and revealed that the government is in ongoing discussions with the industry regarding the timing and scope of the tariffs. Furthermore, an "offset mechanism" is being designed—where companies that build factories in the U.S. could receive a certain proportion of import allowances during the reshoring phase. "We are committed to supporting Micron and other companies in the semiconductor industry," he stated. This stance continues the semiconductor trade policy direction set by the Trump administration since early 2026. On January 14 of this year, the White House issued an executive order citing national security concerns, imposing a 25% ad valorem tariff on certain imported advanced computing chips, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and related products, effective January 15. A U.S. Department of Commerce Section 232 report noted that while the U.S. consumes about a quarter of the world's semiconductors, it produces only about 10% of its domestic demand, making reliance on foreign supply chains a significant security threat. Notably, the first phase of the 25% tariff includes broad exemptions; chips intended for U.S. data center construction, domestic R&D, and consumer applications are exempt. The White House also announced that a second phase would implement "significant tariffs" on a broader range of semiconductor products after completing negotiations with relevant countries and regions, accompanied by a tariff credit program to incentivize domestic investment. Driven by this policy, major memory chip manufacturers are accelerating plans for U.S. production capacity. Micron Technology's President and CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, stated at the event that the company's U.S. expansion plans will add capacity to meet the surge in memory chip demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) wave. He predicted that the memory chip shortage "will persist beyond 2026," and the company is securing long-term supply agreements with customers to ensure predictable supply. Fueled by AI demand, Micron's stock price has risen over 163% year-to-date. Micron has committed to investing approximately $200 billion in U.S. manufacturing and R&D, with over $20 billion allocated for the Virginia plant expansion, supporting more than 3,100 jobs. The plant officially began mass production of 1α DRAM on May 22, representing the most advanced memory technology manufactured in the U.S., with qualified mass production certification expected by the end of 2026. Micron's U.S. investment plans also include projects in Idaho and New York, collectively projected to create about 90,000 jobs. Greer commended investments by companies like Micron at the event: "Our expectation is that you need to build a factory here, and then there will be some coefficient or multiplier—if you build here, you can import a certain amount during the reshoring phase." Meanwhile, South Korea's two major memory chip giants face more urgent tariff pressure. In January, U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick explicitly warned at the groundbreaking ceremony for Micron's New York factory: "All memory chip producers have only two choices—either pay a 100% tariff or produce in the U.S." This statement directly pressures Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.US) and SK Hynix. According to analyst estimates, Samsung has committed about $37 billion for foundry business investments in the U.S., while SK Hynix has invested approximately $3.9 billion to build an advanced packaging plant in Indiana. However, neither company has established a mass production line for DRAM memory chips in the U.S. Recent developments show that SK Hynix's first U.S. semiconductor plant in Indiana broke ground on April 17, 2026, primarily for producing next-generation high-bandwidth memory like HBM4E and HBM5, with operations expected to begin in the second half of 2028. Samsung is constructing a logic chip factory in Austin. In the realm of advanced memory chip manufacturing in the U.S., Micron currently remains the only company achieving domestic DRAM mass production.
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