President Donald Trump announced plans to impose new tariffs on semiconductors and chips imported into the United States, signaling a broader crackdown on foreign-made electronics as part of his push to bring high-tech manufacturing back to American soil.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday night while returning to Washington, D.C. from West Palm Beach, Trump told reporters that the tariffs would be finalized and publicly announced within the week. He emphasized that the goal was to “uncomplicate” trade in the critical semiconductor industry by reducing reliance on overseas suppliers.
“We wanted to uncomplicate it from a lot of other companies, because we want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country,” Trump said.
The announcement followed a Truth Social post earlier in the day, in which the president said the National Security Tariff Investigations would now include a sweeping review of “the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN.”
The U.S. continues to carry a significant trade deficit in semiconductors. In January alone, the country imported $843 million worth of chips while exporting just $521 million, leaving a $322 million trade gap, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
“Nobody is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair Trade Balances and Non-Monetary Tariff Barriers that other Countries have used against us — especially not China, which by far treats us the worst,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also clarified recent confusion regarding tariffs on electronics imported from China. While he did not lift the existing 20% tariff on certain electronics, he explained that reciprocal tariffs, which China raised to 145%, were the subject of a separate trade dispute.
In a retaliatory move, Beijing responded by hiking its tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%, further escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Beyond semiconductors, Trump hinted at the possibility of extending tariffs to the pharmaceutical sector, arguing that drug manufacturing should also be brought back to the U.S. for national security reasons.
“In case of war, in case of whatever, we’re not relying on China and various other countries to supply us with drugs, which is not a good idea, and it’ll happen very fast,” he added.
Trump reiterated his long-standing criticism of America’s trade relationships, especially with China, suggesting that decades of unfair practices must now come to an end.
“We need to make products in the United States,” he wrote. “We will not be held hostage by other countries — especially hostile trading nations like China. THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!”
The proposed tariffs and nationalistic manufacturing message underscore Trump’s campaign to restore American self-sufficiency in key industries — a message likely to resonate with voters ahead of the upcoming election season.
