U.S. President Donald Trump has enacted a 25% tariff on select artificial intelligence chips, including Nvidia’s H200 AI processor and AMD’s MI325X chip, according to a White House national security directive released on Wednesday.
The decision comes after a nine-month probe led under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The new import duties specifically target certain high-performance semiconductors that meet defined benchmarks, as well as devices containing these chips. This move is designed to encourage increased domestic semiconductor production and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign manufacturing hubs such as Taiwan.
According to a White House fact sheet, the imposed tariffs are tightly defined and will exclude chips, along with related devices, imported for data centers operating in the United States—one of the largest consumers of AI processors. The policy also exempts imports destined for startups, consumer electronics that do not serve data centers, non-data center industrial uses, and public sector applications.
The proclamation provides Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with broad authority to grant additional exemptions as deemed necessary.
Trump had previously announced plans in December to levy tariffs on Chinese semiconductor imports, citing China’s aggressive push for dominance in the sector. However, that measure has been postponed and is not scheduled to take effect until June 2027, based on the original source.
