The proposed 100% tariff on imported chips and semiconductors — part of Trump’s continued push to bring tech manufacturing back to American soil — will not apply to companies already manufacturing in the U.S. or actively building facilities, the president said. That carve-out effectively spared some of the industry’s biggest names and helped spark a wave of buying across global tech markets.
In premarket U.S. trading, tech giants saw strong gains:
- Apple rose 3.3% after Trump announced the company would invest an additional $100 billion in U.S.-based manufacturing — a move widely seen as helping the iPhone maker avoid future tariffs.
- U.S.-listed chipmakers posted broad gains, with AMD up 2.5%, Intel up 2.1%, and Nvidia rising 1.1%.
“A major uncertainty has been removed and investors can finally move on,” analysts at UBS said in a note.
The rally extended to Apple’s supply chain, including partners in its new U.S. investment effort:
- Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, GlobalFoundries, and Broadcom rose between 0.8% and 10.1%.
- European chipmakers also climbed, with ASML, ASMI, and BE Semiconductor Industries each up around 3%.
Even Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which manufactures chips for several top U.S. firms including Nvidia, saw its shares surge nearly 5% to an all-time high. Despite being a Taiwanese firm, TSMC has multiple U.S. factories, potentially shielding it from the full brunt of the proposed tariffs.
“The market remains keen to buy TSMC on dips. Investors also believe they need to remain positioned in AI — with or without tariffs,” UBS analysts added.
South Korean tech firms were also seen as winners:
- Samsung Electronics rose 2.5%
- SK Hynix gained 1.4%
Both firms have made substantial U.S. investments — Samsung in chip plants in Texas, and SK Hynix in an AI-focused packaging and R&D facility in Indiana — ensuring they fall within the safe zone of Trump’s tariff structure. South Korea’s top trade envoy confirmed the exemptions.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Infineon, cautious about speculating on the policy’s details, still gained 0.6%. Other European firms joined in the rally, reflecting global optimism that the harshest tariff scenarios had been averted.
But not every country emerged unscathed.
- In the Philippines, where semiconductors account for 70% of electronics exports, industry leaders warned that the new tariffs could be “devastating.” The Philippine Stock Exchange slipped 0.1%, having been down as much as 0.9% earlier.
- Malaysia has contacted U.S. authorities for further clarification, signaling unease about potential fallout.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has made semiconductors a central focus of his trade and industrial policy, using tariff threats to reshape global supply chains and promote domestic manufacturing. The 100% figure, while headline-grabbing, may be more of a negotiating tactic.
“The [tariff] figure fits Trump’s approach of ‘open high, negotiate down’... The final rate could be adjusted to avoid consumer inflation, especially since many consumer goods rely on chips,” said Phelix Lee, senior equity analyst at Morningstar.
As the tech industry recalibrates in response to evolving trade policies, Thursday’s rally suggests investors are relieved — for now — that the worst-case tariff fears have been avoided. But with key details still pending, especially for countries outside the U.S.-aligned investment circle, uncertainty remains on the global semiconductor stage.