The United States is preparing a targeted tariff regime for semiconductors, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying companies that do not manufacture in the United States should expect to pay duties. Korean coverage treated the comments as a fresh source of pressure on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both of which are already expanding U.S. investment while remaining deeply tied to production in Korea and Asia.
Lutnick confirmed in a CNBC interview that the Trump administration was working on semiconductor tariffs and described the planned approach as targeted and thoughtful. He did not provide a tariff rate or an implementation date. The central distinction he emphasized was production location: companies making products in the United States would be treated differently from companies supplying the market from abroad.
Production location becomes a tariff variable
For Korean chipmakers, that turns manufacturing geography into a direct trade-policy variable. Samsung and SK Hynix must weigh the cost of additional U.S. capacity against the potential tariff exposure of imported semiconductors and related products. The policy could also affect decisions about which stages of production move to the United States, rather than simply whether a company has any American factory at all.
Semiconductor supply chains cross borders repeatedly before a finished product reaches customers, so the eventual product definitions will matter. A tariff aimed at imported chips could have a different effect from one that reaches components, wafers or products containing semiconductors. Korean producers therefore need the detailed rules before they can calculate the cost of serving U.S. customers from different factories.
The announcement matters before any tariff number is known because it signals that Washington is still using market access to push strategic manufacturing onshore. Korean firms now need the detailed product coverage, exemption rules and timing. Whether existing Korean investment receives favorable treatment will be especially important for companies already committing billions of dollars to U.S. facilities.