US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will impose a 100% tariff on all imported semiconductors to encourage companies to build and expand chip manufacturing in the United States. Firms that establish or grow production on American soil will be exempt, although the White House has not yet specified exactly how much domestic investment qualifies. Thankfully, TSMC, being the largest and the most critical supplier of semiconductors, is already shielded from the tariff. TSMC shares jumped in early trading in Taipei after the announcement, reflecting confidence that its $65 billion Arizona fab project and an additional $100 billion US investment plan meet the exemption criteria.

Meanwhile in Tokyo, semiconductor stocks took a hit as investors weighed the prospect of higher export costs. Tokyo Electron fell over 5% at the open before paring losses to trade about 2.9% lower by mid-morning. Renesas Electronics dropped by roughly 4%, and Advantest slid 3.3%. South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix bucked the downtrend on reports that their memory divisions would also avoid the full tariff. Samsung climbed 2.5% after Apple said it will source chips from Samsung's new Texas facility for its upcoming iPhones. Economists warn that without a clear implementation framework, the impact will remain uncertain. For companies that own production sites in the US, it would make economic sense to expand their presence, as the US is their largest client.