On December 23rd local time, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that tariffs will be imposed on Chinese semiconductor products starting from June 2027, and the specific tariff rates will be announced at least 30 days before implementation.

Despite the harsh language from the US accusing China of "unreasonably seeking semiconductor dominance," it has chosen to postpone the actual taxation time. According to documents submitted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the initial tariff rate for imported semiconductors from China will be zero for 18 months.

The USTR cited Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, a legal tool widely criticized as a "unilateral weapon" that has been used by the United States in trade frictions with China on multiple occasions.

The survey focuses on "mature process" chips, rather than advanced processes (such as below 7 nanometers). In fact, 28 nanometer and above chips are widely used in key infrastructure such as automotive electronics, industrial control, medical equipment, and power grid systems. According to USTR estimates, China will account for nearly 50% of the world's newly added mature process capacity in the next three to five years. This means that even if the United States maintains a leading position in the high-end field, it may still form a dependence on China on "large quantity and wide coverage" basic chips.

What the US is concerned about is not technological backwardness, but 'dependence is risk'. This "pan security" thinking is the core logic of the current US technology policy towards China - viewing all economic connections as potential security threats.

USTR believes that China distorts the global semiconductor competition landscape through large-scale state subsidies, market access restrictions, forced technology transfers, and other "non market behaviors", and may "weaponize supply chain dependence" in the future, threatening the security of the United States in key areas such as automobiles, healthcare, defense, and power grids.

However, this accusation itself is full of contradictions. On the one hand, the United States has provided direct subsidies of up to $52 billion to its semiconductor companies through the Chip and Science Act, along with billions of dollars in tax incentives; On the other hand, it is unfair to accuse China of supporting the development of local industries.

Despite the firm conclusion of the investigation, USTR has made it clear that the initial tariff is 0% and will not be imposed until at least June 23, 2027.

This move echoes the consensus reached at the October 2025 China US summit on a "trade ceasefire". Both sides agreed to suspend some technology export controls and tariff upgrades to cool down tense relations. If taxes are immediately increased at this time, it is tantamount to tearing up the tacit understanding, which may trigger countermeasures from the Chinese side and undermine the hard-earned dialogue window.

In addition, providing companies with a buffer period of more than 18 months can also help stabilize global supply chain expectations. Currently, a large number of multinational corporations are adjusting their chip procurement and manufacturing layouts in China. A clear timeline can reduce uncertainty and avoid capacity mismatches or investment panic caused by policy changes.

It is worth mentioning that since the beginning of 2025, the China US trade war has repeatedly stirred up waves, causing severe fluctuations in global stock markets and putting considerable pressure on the US economic outlook. In addition to raising tariffs on each other's goods to a maximum of 145%, China also temporarily cut off exports of key rare earth minerals, which are widely used in key products such as automobiles and fighter jets.

Therefore, the market generally believes that the decision to postpone the imposition of new tariffs for at least 18 months indicates that the Trump administration is seeking to ease any trade hostility between China and the United States.

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This is reported by Top Components, a leading supplier of electronic components in the semiconductor industry

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Name: John Chen

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