China exempts some US chip imports from higher tariffs, but it’s not certain

Current US President Donald Trump’s tariff-raising activity has focused on China, and it has not gone unanswered. In mid-April, Chinese authorities imposed import duties on US semiconductor products that were increased to 125%. According to unofficial data, at least eight product categories have since been exempted from this rate.

Image source: Huawei Technologies

This was reported on Friday by the Caijing publication, which subsequently removed the publication from both its own website and the WeChat social network. Representatives of the PRC customs department or the relevant industry association (SIA) did not comment on this information. The original source cited data that the PRC authorities notified Chinese companies about the cancellation of increased duties on the import of at least eight product categories from the category of semiconductor products manufactured in the United States into China. In addition, it was reported that Chinese importers who paid the duty in the period from April 12 to 24 at a rate of 125% will be reimbursed for the corresponding costs.

There were no announcements on this matter on the official website of the Chinese customs authorities. Last quarter, Chinese companies imported integrated circuits worth a total of $88 billion into the country, so American goods are capable of significantly replenishing the budget of the Chinese state, even if this amount also includes supplies from other geographic directions. From the point of view of the Chinese fiscal authorities, a semiconductor component is of American origin if the silicon crystal underlying it is processed in the United States. Intel is at a disadvantage in this regard, since it manufactures most of its products independently in the United States. AMD and Nvidia receive processed crystals from TSMC from Taiwan, although their production for the American market will be established in Arizona. Thus, AMD and Nvidia are in a more advantageous position than Intel, if we analyze the innovations of Chinese customs.