U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Yonhap News U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced on the 7th (local time) that companies that pledge and follow through on building production facilities in the United States during President Donald Trump's term will be exempt from tariffs on specific semiconductor items.

In an interview with Fox Business that day, Secretary Lutnick stated, "The President's remark (yesterday) was, 'As long as you are building a factory in the U.S., I will not impose tariffs; however, if you do not build a factory in the U.S., I will impose a 100% tariff.'"

He explained, "The President's policy is that if a company commits to building a factory in the U.S. during his term, registers that commitment with the Department of Commerce, and has the construction process overseen from start to finish, the President will allow them to import semiconductors tariff-free while the factory is being built."

He further emphasized, "It must be verified and monitored that the factory is actually being built in the U.S."

In short, semiconductor tariffs will be deferred if a company pledges to build a factory in the U.S. and that commitment is verified; otherwise, a 100% tariff will be applied as announced the previous day.

Based on Secretary Lutnick's comments, it is highly likely that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which are currently investing in semiconductor-related projects in Texas and Indiana, respectively, will be exempt from the threatened 100% semiconductor tariffs.

This measure can be interpreted as being less about imposing tariffs on semiconductor imports themselves and more about pressuring semiconductor companies to construct plants within the United States.

President Trump said at the White House the previous day, "We will impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductors," clarifying that this applies to "all integrated circuits (chips) and semiconductors coming into the United States," and added, "If you build (a semiconductor manufacturing plant) in the U.S., it will not be imposed."

Secretary Lutnick stated that the semiconductor construction investments expected to flow into the U.S. through this tariff measure would amount to "$1 trillion, as President Trump announced yesterday."

He expressed optimism, saying, "TSMC announced a $200 billion investment in Arizona. Micron is investing $200 billion in Idaho and New York. It is truly a massive scale, and it will happen all across the U.S."

Secretary Lutnick projected that U.S. government tariff revenue would reach over $50 billion per month due to the new reciprocal tariffs that took effect at midnight (Eastern Time). Last month, tariff revenue was $30 billion.

He added, "And now, with semiconductors coming in, pharmaceuticals coming in, all sorts of additional tariff revenues will be coming in."

President Trump had previously stated in a CNBC interview on the 5th that he planned to announce specific tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals "next week or so," adding, "We will start with a small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in a year or a year and a half, we will raise it to 150%, and after that, we will raise it to 250%."

Meanwhile, South Korean Presidential Office spokesperson Kang Yu-jung stated that under an agreement with the U.S. on the 30th of last month, South Korea was promised Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) status in the semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors, and that this commitment to receive treatment that is favorable or equal compared to other countries remains in effect.

Yonhap News