Daily: Trump tariff semiconductor timeline; Pending approval for Synopsys/Ansys acquisition; Qualcomm fabs on Samsung 4nm
4.5 min read.
Highlights
Trump tariff semiconductor timeline. Trump’s tariffs are messy but let’s try to break it down, at least with regards to semiconductors:
April 2: Some semiconductors are exempt from Trump’s tariffs, but chipmaking equipment, intermediary goods (e.g., metals), and even some kinds of GPUs are not exempt. Chip stocks plummet globally, except in China. However, Trump suggests that tariffs on semiconductors may come later.
April 11: Semiconductor equipment and some other electronics (computers, tablets, phones etc.) become exempt from both the 145% tariffs on China and the 10% tariffs for all U.S. imports. Chip stocks rebound a little.
Separately: China raises reciprocal tariffs on all US goods from 84% to 125%. Chip stocks, especially those in the US, fall.
April 12: Trump tells reporters that he will release more information about potential semiconductor tariffs on Monday (April 14, today).
April 13: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials say that the exempted tech goods, including semiconductors, will see tariffs within the next month or two. This will likely come after a trade investigation into semiconductors.
Separately: Trump says that the exemptions are not really exemptions and that semiconductors and the other goods will face tariffs over the coming week (as opposed to Lutnick’s projected 1-2 months).
I’m not sure how big the chip tariffs will be. On one hand, Washington sees chips as a huge national security concern and believes that moving manufacturing capacity onto U.S. soil is a key priority. On the other hand, imposing a tax on the most critical good of contemporary society will be a huge cost on consumers, have domino effects on the economy, and chip manufacturing in the U.S. will be a huge challenge. On net, Trump might start with a lower rate of say, 10-20% and hike it up over time when he doesn’t get the outcomes he wants. But it is too hard to tell when there are daily and hourly changes to trade policy.
Pending approval for Synopsys/Ansys acquisition. Synopsys’ US$34b acquisition of Ansys is waiting approval from Chinese regulators. Just as Beijing is trying to scuttle the BlackRock x CK Hutchinson deal over the Panama ports (apparently, successfully), China has lots of other tools in its arsenal than just tariffs.
Qualcomm fabs on Samsung 4nm. Qualcomm reportedly fabs XR chip with Samsung Foundry 4nm process.
Thanks for reading.
1. Policy and Geopolitics
1.1
WSJ (04/13): Shifting Signals on Tech Tariffs Fuel Fresh Trade Uncertainty
Tech investors briefly rejoiced when a notice from U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted late Friday said computers, tablets, Apple watches, computer monitors, semiconductor equipment and other electronics were exempt from many tariffs on Chinese products and a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports.
When asked about the exemptions late Saturday, President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he would talk more about them on Monday, adding that “we’ll be very specific.”
Administration officials on Sunday, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, said the tech products exempted from many tariffs will face separate levies in a month or two as part of a trade investigation into semiconductors. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday the official policy is “no exemptions, no exclusions.”
“There was no tariff ‘exception’ announced on Friday,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform Sunday, adding that the products will be in the separate tariff bucket with semiconductors.
1.2
Axios (04/14): Trump says he'll announce new chips tariffs over the next week
President Trump said Sunday he'll announce tariffs on semiconductor chips "over the next week," though he indicated he could offer flexibility to some companies.
1.3
Bloomberg (04/11): TI and Intel Shares Sink as China Tariffs Hit US-Made Chips
Shares of chipmakers with US manufacturing plants fell Friday after China announced new tariffs, targeting semiconductor imports.
Beijing will raise tariffs on all US goods from 84% to 125%, and the China Semiconductor Industry Association issued an emergency notice, which stated that customs determines the origin of imports by where chips are manufactured, not the home country of origin.
The news put particular pressure on Texas Instruments Inc. and Intel Corp., which have semiconductor plants located in the US. TI shares fell 6.8%, while Intel sank 3.7% and GlobalFoundries Inc. dropped 2.4%.
2. Economy, Finance, and Business
2.1
Bloomberg (04/12): Trade War Raises Alarm for Ansys-Synopsys Deal Needing China Nod
The escalating tariff fight between the US and China is casting a shadow over one of the world’s biggest pending deals, and traders are growing fearful that the takeover will get bogged down by Beijing’s antitrust regulators.
Ansys Inc., which agreed to be bought by chip-designer Synopsys Inc. for about $34 billion back in January 2024, ranks as the world’s sixth-biggest acquisition of the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But in less than two weeks the deal spread — the difference the value of the cash-and-stock offer and current trading price of the target company — has widened from roughly $25 per share to more than $40.
That swelling gap reflects growing uncertainty that the deal will be able to clear its last major hurdle — approval from China, which the companies are hoping to get in the first half of this year.
2.2
TrendForce (04/14): TSMC’s Kumamoto Fab 2 Reportedly Delayed Again Amid Weak Auto Demand and Strategic U.S. Shift
As TSMC ramps up its investments in the U.S., progress at its Taiwan facilities is also steadily advancing. However, according to Economic Daily News, citing NHK, the company’s second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, has reportedly faced another delay.
TSMC had originally scheduled the groundbreaking for the second fab in the first quarter of 2025. However, as noted in the report, the company is now considering postponing it to later in the year.
Despite the delay, TSMC emphasized that its plans for a second fab in Japan under its subsidiary JASM remain unchanged, as highlighted in the report.
3. Technology
3.1
TrendForce (04/14): Samsung Reportedly Produces Qualcomm’s XR Chip for the First Time Using 4nm Process
Industry sources revealed on April 11 that Samsung Foundry is manufacturing Qualcomm’s second-generation XR application processor, the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, using its advanced 4nm process technology.
While Samsung has previously announced its collaboration with Qualcomm and Google on XR headset development, this marks the first instance of Samsung Foundry producing a Qualcomm-designed XR chip. This chip will serve as the “brain” of Project Moohan, the XR device currently under development by Samsung’s Mobile eXperience (MX) division, the report adds.
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