tl;dr
South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo announced that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will be exempt from 100% U.S. tariffs on semiconductor chips. This exemption aligns with U.S. President Trump's policy favoring countries manufacturing chips domestically in the U.S. Samsung operates two chip fa...
Trade Minister of the Republic of South Korea Yeo Han-koo announced that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will not be subject to 100% U.S. tariffs on semiconductor chips. He expressed confidence that South Korea will enjoy the most favorable U.S. tariff rates on chips amid U.S. President Donald Trump's warning about tariffs on semiconductor exports from countries not producing chips domestically in the U.S.
President Trump exempted countries committed to manufacturing chips in the U.S. or undergoing the process, though his comments lacked formal clarification. Yeo Han-koo expressed hope for a trade deal between Washington and Seoul on semiconductors but provided no further details.
South Korea’s Samsung operates two chip fabrication facilities in Texas, part of a broader expansion supported by the CHIPS and Science Act, which incentivizes domestic chip manufacturing. Meanwhile, SK Hynix received $458 million from the U.S. Commerce Department last year to construct a chip packaging plant in West Lafayette, Indiana, and plans to invest an additional $3.87 billion with $500 million in government loans backing the project. However, analyst Baik Gil-hyun from Yuanta Securities questioned whether SK Hynix’s packaging plant alone would fully qualify for tariff exemptions.
Following these developments, Samsung Electronics’ shares rose 1.74% to 70,050 KRW, while SK Hynix’s stock edged up 0.3% to 259,250 KRW in the last 24 hours. President Trump recently imposed a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea but also announced a trade deal with the country.
Analyst Baik Gil-hyun suggested Samsung might benefit significantly from becoming part of Apple’s chip supply chain. Apple revealed that it will source chips from Samsung’s Texas-based facility, utilizing new manufacturing technology to enhance power and performance in Apple products, including iPhones.
Kiwoom Securities analyst Park Yu-ak speculated that these chips are likely next-generation image sensors for the iPhone 18, potentially boosting Samsung’s semiconductor division sales. Sony currently dominates the image sensor market with over 50% share, while Samsung holds 15.4%. Apple also announced a plan to invest an additional $100 billion in the U.S., bringing total investments to $600 billion over the next four years.