Samsung and SK Hynix Exempt from US 100% Chip Tariffs, South Korea Confirms

South Korea says Samsung, SK Hynix will not be subject to 100% US chip tariffs

SEOUL, Aug 7 (Reuters) - South Korea's top trade envoy Yeo Han-koo said on Thursday that Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab and SK Hynix (000660.KS), opens new tab will not be subject to 100% U.S. tariffs on chips. Yeo said on radio that among various countries, South Korea will face the most favourable U.S. tariff rates on chips under the trade deal between Washington and Seoul. He did not elaborate. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States will impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductors imported from countries not producing in the U.S. or planning to do so. But it would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the U.S. or were in the process of doing so. Trump's comments were not a formal announcement and much remains unclear. Samsung has invested in two chip fabrication plants in Austin and Taylor, Texas, while SK Hynix has announced plans to build an advanced chip packaging plant and research and development facility for artificial intelligence products in Indiana. "While both Samsung and SK Hynix have made U.S. investments, there are doubts about whether SK Hynix's packaging plant alone would fully qualify for tariff exemptions," said Baik Gil-hyun, an analyst at Yuanta Securities. "Samsung, on the other hand, appears to be benefiting not only from that but also from news that it has joined Apple's supply chain." Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab said on Wednesday that Samsung Electronics will supply chips from its production plant in Texas for Apple products including iPhones. Shares in Samsung Electronics climbed 2.6% while shares in SK Hynix were trading up 0.6% in line with the broader market. Both companies declined to comment on Trump's remarks. Reporting by Heekong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill and Edwina Gibbs Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Shares in South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix tumble on US tariffs

SEOUL, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Shares in South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix fell 3.1% in early Thursday trade, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will impose a tariff of about 100% on chips. SK Hynix supplies Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab with chips called high-bandwidth memory used in artificial intelligence chipsets. Trump said on Wednesday the United States will impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductors imported from countries not producing in the U.S. or planning to do so. But it would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the U.S. or were in the process of doing so. South Korea's trade envoy said on Thursday that SK Hynix and rival Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab would not be subject to a 100% U.S. tariff on chips. Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Kim Coghill and Jamie Freed Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

TSMC, Samsung + SK hynix also exempt from Trump's 100% tariffs like NVIDIA + Apple

TL;DR: South Korea's Samsung and SK hynix, along with Taiwan's TSMC, are exempt from President Trump's 100% semiconductor tariffs due to their significant investments in US-based manufacturing facilities. Apple and NVIDIA also maintain exemption status, supporting the growth of America's semiconductor industry and supply chain. South Korea has confirmed that its big tech powerhouse companies -- Samsung and SK hynix -- are exempt from President Trump's 100% tariffs on semiconductors. Taiwan has also said TSMC is exempt from the tariffs, too. The Trump administration unveiled punitive sectoral tariffs for the semiconductor industry yesterday, removing the sting of the levy by exempting companies that are already either in the middle of building, or have committed to building semiconductor facilities on American soil. President Trump then confirmed that there would be levy-exempt status stamped onto Apple and NVIDIA, as the two US-based tech companies have hundreds of billions of dollars of investments inside of the US. At the White House, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced another $100 billion of investment into US semiconductor manufacturing, bringing Apple's total US investments to over $600 billion, also announcing the company's new American Manufacturing Program (AMP) and plans to build an end-to-end silicon supply chain on American soil. South Korea has announced its silicon powerhouses Samsung and SK hynix are exempt from Trump's new semiconductor tariffs, with Samsung investing $45 billion on US-based semiconductor fab plants, an R&D center, and a packaging facility planned for 2030. SK hynix has invested $3.87 billion in Indiana to build a new memory packaging plant for AI products, and an advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility on American soil. Taiwan has also said that TSMC is exempt from Trump's semiconductor tariffs, so all of the super-huge, major tech companies are safe from semiconductor tariffs -- Apple, NVIDIA, SK hynix, Samsung, and TSMC.

After NVIDIA And Apple, South Korea Declares That Samsung And SK Hynix Are Also Exempt From Trump's 100 Percent Tariffs On Semiconductors

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy. At the rate global semiconductor heavyweights are winning exemptions under Trump's newly proposed 100 percent sectoral tariffs on silicon chips, the list of companies that actually face these punitive levies is likely to be rather small. Case in point: South Korea has just announced the tariff-exempted status of its semiconductor heavyweights, Samsung and SK Hynix. As we noted in an earlier post, President Trump unveiled punitive sectoral tariffs for the semiconductor sphere earlier today, but removed the levy's bite by exempting companies that are either already building or have committed to building chip manufacturing facilities in the US. A short while later, President Trump confirmed the levy-exempted status of NVIDIA and Apple, courtesy of their mammoth investments in the US. In fact, just today, Apple announced that it would invest $600 billion in the US over the next 4 years to build an end-to-end supply chain in the US, covering every stage of its labyrinthine manufacturing process, ranging from initial silicon wafers to the final packaged component ready for use in iPhones, Macs, and other Apple products. Apple will rope in the US-based facilities of GlobalWafers America, TSMC, Texas Instruments, and Applied Materials in this endeavor. This brings us to the core topic. South Korea has just announced that its silicon heavyweights, Samsung and SK Hynix, will remain exempt from Trump's new semiconductor-focused sectoral tariffs. Do note that Samsung has committed to investing $45 billion in the US to build two chip fabrication plants, an R&D center, and a packaging facility by 2030. Similarly, SK Hynix is investing $3.87 billion in in West Lafayette, Indiana, to build a memory packaging plant for AI products and an advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility. Of course, given the huge qualifier attached with Trump's semiconductor tariffs, it appears only companies like SMIC, UMC, and Rapidus will face these punitive levies as they do not have any material manufacturing footprint in the US.

Samsung, SK Hynix not subject to 100% U.S. chip tariffs, South Korean envoy says

South Korea's top trade envoy Yeo Han-koo said Thursday that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will not be subject to 100% U.S. tariffs on chips. Yeo said on radio that among various countries, South Korea will face the most favorable U.S. tariff rates on chips under the trade deal between Washington and Seoul. He did not elaborate. U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States will impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductors imported from countries not producing in the U.S. or planning to do so. But it would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the U.S. or were in the process of doing so. Trump's comments were not a formal announcement and much remains unclear. Samsung has invested in two chip fabrication plants in Austin and Taylor in the state of Texas, while SK Hynix has announced plans to build an advanced chip-packaging plant and research and development facility for artificial intelligence products in Indiana. "While both Samsung and SK Hynix have made U.S. investments, there are doubts about whether SK Hynix's packaging plant alone would fully qualify for tariff exemptions," said Baik Gil-hyun, an analyst at Yuanta Securities. "Samsung, on the other hand, appears to be benefiting not only from that but also from news that it has joined Apple's supply chain." Apple said Wednesday that Samsung Electronics will supply chips from its production plant in Texas for Apple products including iPhones. Shares in Samsung Electronics climbed 2.6% while shares in SK Hynix were trading up 0.6% in line with the broader market. Both companies declined to comment on Trump's remarks.

Shares in South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix tumble on US tariffs

SEOUL (Reuters) -Shares in South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix fell 3.1% in early Thursday trade, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will impose a tariff of about 100% on chips. SK Hynix supplies Nvidia with chips called high-bandwidth memory used in artificial intelligence chipsets. Trump said on Wednesday the United States will impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductors imported from countries not producing in the U.S. or planning to do so. But it would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the U.S. or were in the process of doing so. South Korea's trade envoy said on Thursday that SK Hynix and rival Samsung Electronics would not be subject to a 100% U.S. tariff on chips. (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Kim Coghill and Jamie Freed)