The world’s biggest chipmaker, TSMC, is raising red flags about new US tariffs that could throw a wrench into its massive $165 billion investment in Arizona. In a bold move, the company is urging the US Department of Commerce to keep chip imports duty-free.

In a letter sent on May 5 by TSMC’s Arizona subsidiary, the company laid out its case against new Section 232 tariffs on semiconductor imports. TSMC is already pouring $65 billion into three wafer fabs in Phoenix—one is up and running, another is almost done, and the third just broke ground. On top of that, they’ve committed another $100 billion for three more fabs, two advanced-packaging plants, and an R&D center, totaling a whopping $165 billion.

With all six fabs are fully operational, Arizona will reportedly churn out 100,000 wafers a month—about 30% of TSMC’s projected capacity for cutting-edge 2-nanometer chips and beyond. The company says this could spark $200 billion in economic activity and create tens of thousands of jobs.

But here’s the catch:

TSMC warns that tariffs could jack up prices for end products like phones and computers, which would likely crush chip demand. That would make it harder to justify the Arizona expansion, especially since the US doesn’t produce a lot of the specialized equipment and materials TSMC needs. The company is asking for duty-free access for firms with major US chip production to keep supply chains smooth.

This comes as the US Department of Commerce wraps up a Section 232 report, due soon after May 26, amid talk from former President Donald Trump about slapping up to 100% tariffs on Taiwanese chips, claiming Taiwan “stole” US business.

TSMC is pushing back hard, saying its Arizona plans—and America’s chipmaking ambitions—hinge on avoiding those tariffs. With so much at stake, all eyes are on how the US balances trade policy with its semiconductor goals.

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Word of a massive 145% US tariff on Chinese imports has North American buyers rushing to grab desktops and laptops before prices skyrocket. IDC’s latest data shows Q1 2025 sales going through the roof, but this surge might not last long.

Since tons of PC parts come from China, the threat of these tariffs has everyone on edge. IDC says Q1 2025 PC revenue hit $19.9 billion, up 7.6% from last year. Laptops flew off shelves with a 26.9% sales jump, desktops surged 35.3%, and workstations? A whopping 49.3% spike. Big names like Dell, HP, and Lenovo are even holding back notebook shipments to the US, hinting at stock shortages.

But tariff isn’t the only reason behind this surge

Microsoft is pulling the plug on Windows 10 security updates in October 2025, so many people with older PCs that can’t handle Windows 11 are upgrading now. Retail sales popped off in March 2025, though folks are feeling less confident with US-China tariff talks stuck, per IDC. Companies are beefing up their IT setups, and regular people are snagging systems to dodge the price hikes.

Still, IDC is waving a red flag: this buying craze could fizzle by late 2025. The US gaming sector is already seeing this, with Circana reporting a 6% drop in console and accessory sales in March, showing folks are prioritizing work over play. That said, Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders might give gaming a boost, per posts on X.

PC brands like Lenovo are cashing in now, but with laptop prices possibly jumping 46%, the surge might disappear soon. Will buyers keep stockpiling, or will budgets tighten? The second half of 2025 will tell.

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India is in talks with Taiwan over a deal regarding chip production. The new discussions would have both countries enter into a semiconductor manufacturing agreement, bringing a new chip plant to India.

According to a Bloomberg report, the talks are related to chip plant and new trade deal between both nations. However, this move might spark new frictions with China. As per sources close to the matter, the officials from New Delhi and Taipei have met in recent weeks to discuss a possible agreement that would bring a chip plant to India. This chip manufacturing site would have an estimated worth of 7.5 billion US Dollars and would supply the nation with various components related to 5G to even electric cars.

As of right now, India is also surveying potential locations that can provide this site with sufficient water, land, and manpower. Furthermore, the country also seeks to provide financial support of 50 percent of the capital expenditure from 2023. This would also includes other benefits like tax breaks and other incentives as well. Notably, the officials from Taipei also wanted fast progress on a bilateral investment agreement that would include lowered tariffs for various products that are used to make semiconductors.

Unfortunately, the Office of Trade Negotiations in Taiwan declined to comment on the matter while India’s trade ministry has yet to provide a comment regarding this matter. The report added that Taiwan has long sought a trade deal with India, however, official in New Delhi have been reluctant due to rise of new frictions with China caused by this move. For those unaware, China considers the island nation as its territory.

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Earlier this morning (23rd December 2019), China announced that it would cut import taxes and tariffs on a range of over 850 products. The changes will be implemented with effect starting from 1st January 2019 and are being made to boost imports amidst a slowing economy and a trade war with the US.

China’s Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has stated that the move is aimed at promoting a “high quality development of trade.” According to a Chinese news agency, Xinhua, the new adjustments are being made to further the coordinated plans of development of trade and environment by the country.

From the list of 859 total products seeing an effective change, a few of the notable ones include frozen imported meats (pork, as China is one of the largest consumer of the meat and the country was hit with a recent virus that affected indigenous animals), essential pharmaceuticals (asthma inhalers and diabetic drugs), paper products and crucial components of electronic products (integrated circuits and key semiconductors components).

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Furthermore, the products from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Pakistan, and a few Latin countries will be charged with even lower tariffs under the new free-trade agreements. So far, the move does not seem to be directly caused by the aftermath of the US-China trade disputes. Earlier this month, both sides had announced a minor agreement to reduce a few of the tariffs levied to prevent further impact on the global trade growths for either side.

Previously, China had also exempted a list of US based chemicals from import tariffs, which included variants of industrial glue and other adhesives, industrial polymers and types of paraffin which is used in both cosmetics and food products. Notably, it is stated that China plans on further reducing import tariffs on some technology products as well from the 1st of July 2020.

Thus, it could mean that in 2020, trade relations have a better chance of being revitalized in China. This could also imply that the import of semi-assembled smartphones and its crucial components will be levied lower tariffs allowing for foreign companies like Apple to be a bit more competitive with its pricing in the East.

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The Trump administration is reportedly considering to exempt Apple from the upcoming round of China tariffs on iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks reports WSJ. While this would ensure Apple devices stay competitive, Samsung’s current manufacturing situation could have a greater role to play in this decision.

Most of Apple’s manufacturing is based in China. So a tariff on imports from China will adversely affect the Cupertino giant’s sales in the country. And with iPhones and Macbooks becoming costlier, other brands like Samsung would get an unfair advantage. That’s because Samsung has shifted most of its smartphone and device manufacturing outside of China, in huge factories based in countries like Vietnam and India. So if Apple was to bear the brunt of the recent China tariffs, iPhones would get a lot more expensive as compared to Samsung’s flagship Galaxy series in the U.S.

“The problem we have is you have Samsung, it’s a great company, but it’s a competitor of Apple. And it’s not fair because we have a trade deal, we made a great trade deal with South Korea. But we have to treat Apple in a somewhat similar basis as we treat Samsung,” Trump was quoted as saying by WSJ.

Trump made this statement during his visit to the new $1 billion, 133-acre campus in Austin, Texas that’s being constructed beside the already-functional Mac Pro production facility. The campus will house 5,000 employees when it opens in 2022, which can be further scaled to accommodate 15,000 employees in the future.

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