US Commerce Secretary Indicates Trump Will Still Move Electronics Manufacturing Away From Taiwan

The exemption of semiconductor product categories from increased U.S. tariffs was only a temporary measure, according to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The country’s authorities later intend to ensure that the bulk of semiconductor products needed by the national economy are manufactured on its territory.

Image source: Foxconn

This became known thanks to the Nikkei Asian Review, which cites an interview with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on CNBC, which he gave after Donald Trump announced an increase in customs tariffs in the US. The official explained the exclusion of semiconductor products from the list of goods that will be subject to increased duties from April as follows: “Donald Trump will study them carefully, they will be applied later, and they will be aimed at moving all this semiconductor production from Taiwan (to the US).” The Commerce Secretary added that “America must be able to protect itself.”

According to Lutnik, all electronics sold in the US are mainly produced in Taiwan, and previously they were manufactured in America. It was the policy of the American leadership that led to the fact that electronics production was transferred to Taiwan. And now, many thousands of kilometers away, “our life is being built,” as the minister put it. US President Trump, according to him, intends to return this production to his country.

The tariffs on a number of goods were recently increased by Trump based on Section 232 of the so-called Trade Expansion Act, which was adopted back in 1962. In the near future, according to the Secretary of Commerce, tariffs on copper and timber will be adjusted, and later it will be applied to semiconductor components, medicines and critical minerals. The US authorities hope that these measures will lead to the revival of American industry. According to the Minister, Apple smartphones could be produced in American factories by robots.

The tax policy of many countries, as the US authorities believe, allows their governments to subsidize the production of certain types of products, be it steel or automobiles. Receiving cheap energy, foreign metallurgists destroy the American industry with their low prices, and without the same steel industry, the US will not be able to defend itself in the event of military action, as the official concluded.