New 25% Tariff Imposed on Certain Semiconductor Imports

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Jan. 15, 2026
By: Ashley J. Bodden

On January 14, President Trump announced that certain advanced chips will be subject to a 25 percent Section 232 tariff beginning January 15^th. The tariff covers advanced microchips, such as NVIDIA H200 and AMD MI325X, with specific parameters described in the Annex to the Presidential Proclamation.

The proclamation introduced nine new HTS subheadings 9903.79.01 through 9903.79.09 for advanced chips. The accompanying Annex sets out specific exemptions for certain uses of these advanced chips. Advanced chips that qualify for one of the exempt uses, shown below, will not be subject to the 25 percent tariff. However, advanced chips that do not qualify for an exemption must be declared under HTS subheading 9903.79.01 and will face the 25 percent tariff.

The chart below shows the HTS subheadings, use parameters and the duties applied:

HTS Subheading	Duty	Use Parameters
9903.79.01	25%	Semiconductors imported under HTS subheadings 8471.50, 8471.80 and 8473.30 meeting the parameters
9903.79.02	0%	Semiconductor articles that are classifiable under provisions of HTSUS 9903.79.01 but that do not meet the required technical parameters.
9903.79.03	0%	Semiconductor articles for use in U.S. data centers (defined as requiring >100 MW of new load for AI workloads)
9903.79.04	0%	Semiconductors imported for repair/replacement in the U.S.
9903.79.05	0%	Semiconductors articles imported for R&D activities in the U.S.
9903.79.06	0%	Semiconductor articles, that are for use by startups in the United States. A “startup” is an “emerging growth company.”
9903.79.07	0%	Semiconductor articles that are for use in non-data center consumer electronics applications in the United States, including gaming, personal computing, professional visualization, workstation applications, and automotive applications.
9903.79.08	0%	Semiconductor articles that are for use in non-data center civil industrial applications in the United States, including factory robotics and industrial machinery.
9903.79.09	0%	Semiconductor articles that are for use in United States public sector applications

In addition, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a CSMS message outlining how the tariff will be applied. The guidance confirms that no drawback (refund) will be available for the additional 25 percent Section 232 duties on semiconductors. In other words, these duties cannot be recovered even if goods are later exported.

The proclamation also warns that additional measure may be imposed on other products if the administration is not satisfied by outcomes of the trade agreements negotiated with countries that manufacture chips or related products. After these negotiations conclude, the Commerce Secretary may recommend broader tariffs on semiconductors, at a rate that is significant. The Secretary may also propose pairing these tariffs with a tariff offset program, allowing companies that invest in U.S. semiconductor production or certain parts of the U.S. semiconductor supply chain to receive preferential tariff treatment. Any trade agreements must be concluded within 180 days.

For more information, or questions on how your company will be impacted, please reach out to any Barnes, Richardson & Colburn attorney.