The Trump administration is chasing semiconductor imports

In its latest bid to boost semiconductor production in the US, the Trump administration is reportedly considering a ratio-based approach that will punish domestic manufacturers tariffs if they don’t produce enough chips.

The administration is weighing policies that require U.S. semiconductor companies to produce as many chips in the US as their customers import from overseas manufacturers, the Wall Street Journal cites an anonymous source.

The timeline for achieving this ratio is not clear, but companies that do not comply with this 1:1 ratio will be subject to tariffs, the report said.

President Donald Trump has been talking about imposing tariffs on the semiconductor industry since the beginning of August.

This ratio-based approach is unusual when an administration wants to achieve its goal of bringing semiconductor manufacturing back into the state. It could ultimately lead to more domestic semiconductor production, but could hurt the US chip industry until manufacturing increases to meet the enormous demand.

Remove domestic chip manufacturing plants from the ground is not a small scale or a fast effort. Intel’s Ohio plant, originally scheduled to open this year, has been delayed several times, and is currently targeting its release in 2030.

Meanwhile, in March, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) said it was committing $100 billion over the next four years to build infrastructure to support US chip production plants, although it is lighter in detail.