Representative Greear and President Trump [AFP Yonhap News]

Jamieson Greear, the representative of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), stated on the 22nd (local time) that a comprehensive tariff on semiconductors would be imposed at an appropriate time, but not immediately.

Greear said at a groundbreaking ceremony for an expansion at Micron Technology's memory chip factory in Virginia, "It is very important to impose tariffs on semiconductors," according to Reuters.

Greear emphasized, "What is more important than protecting facilities like these (memory chip factories) is that we implement it (semiconductor tariffs) at the right time and at the right level."

He added, "There are no tariffs to be imposed immediately (on semiconductors)."

Greear said, "These are complex supply chains. We have seen the offshoring of the semiconductor industry for decades," and that at the "reshoring stage (re-transfer of production facilities to the U.S.)," semiconductor companies will be allowed a certain volume of imports.

The semiconductor tariffs mentioned by Representative Greear appear to refer to item-specific tariffs imposed for reasons such as national security, based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.

Under a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump in January, the U.S. is imposing a 25% tariff on semiconductors imported from foreign factories, including Taiwan's TSMC, for re-export to China and other regions.

However, even after President Trump's "threat of 100% tariffs" in August last year, comprehensive tariffs on all semiconductor imports have not yet been implemented.

President Trump said at the swearing-in ceremony for Kevin Warsh as Chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed) that thanks to tariffs, "By the time I leave office, we will have 50% of the world's chip manufacturing capacity, and maybe more."

Trump mentioned, "They are coming from Taiwan, and coming from other regions," citing the semiconductor factory that TSMC is building in Arizona.

In a Fox News interview aired after the U.S.-China summit on the 15th, Trump stated, "I wish all semiconductor manufacturers in Taiwan would come to the United States."

He specifically argued that Taiwan was able to develop because his predecessors did not impose tariffs on Taiwan's semiconductor sector, claiming, "They (Taiwan) have stolen our semiconductor (semiconductor industry) for many years," and added, "We lost the semiconductor industry, but it's all coming back."

Combining the remarks of President Trump and Representative Greear, it can be interpreted that the comprehensive semiconductor tariff imposition, which falls under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, will be left as a possible option within the current administration's term and used as leverage for reshoring the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

Micron, where Representative Greear gave his speech today, is one of the top three memory production companies, accounting for 90% of the global DRAM market along with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Reuters reported that Micron plans to expand its investment in the U.S. by $30 billion, announcing a total investment of $200 billion.