WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has said he has signed two new trade actions under Section 232. The moves target critical minerals and semiconductor imports.
White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf said the first action followed a trade investigation into critical minerals. He said it creates a process to secure US supply chains for critical minerals and related products.
The second action focuses on semiconductors. Scharf said it sets up a two-phase process. Under the first phase, certain imported semiconductors will face a 25 per cent tariff.
He said the tariff would apply to chips imported into the United States that are not used domestically to build artificial intelligence or computing systems.
Semiconductors shipped through the US to other countries would also be subject to the tariff.