US 50% China Semiconductor Tariff

[vad]

Maybe US has a crystal ball that predicts a flipping trade if left alone.
Or maybe there's a message that only Taiwan can do tariff free trade from Formosa.

I've heard that somewhere in central Europe garden fences are made from active solar panels.
Just a thought against protectionism.

I'd say that one core problem in USA is too powerful lobbies of old technology.
And new technology can't compensate, labor cost doesn't help either.

Military needs chips and high quality "raw" materials, for that old machinery is no good.
Maximal short term profitability is no good either, or it is, but only for current owner.

The case of tariffs on solar panels is a curious one. On the one hand, the current administration has pushed forward radical green policies, such as the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, a moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal lands, and the introduction of ridiculous emissions standards. On the other hand, they seem to undermine their green agenda by increasing tariffs on solar panels from the main supplier countries. It looks like the administration is protecting local manufacturing because the solar panel tariffs apply not only to China but also to Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam - the main solar panel manufacturers.

[all_repair]

Back to semicon.  Digikey and mouser are selling outside US.  They would need to setup branch outside China, US or relocated to another place, to be competitive.

[forrestc]

Back to semicon.  Digikey and mouser are selling outside US.  They would need to setup branch outside China, US or relocated to another place, to be competitive.

Not necessarily.

The US has provisions for what is known as a Foreign Trade Zone. These are areas which are treated as being outside the US for customs purposes.  So an international distributor of goods can locate a warehouse on US soil and not have to pay dirty on any goods not being forwarded to the rest of the US.

In addition, the US will allow a company that initially paid tariffs on goods which were later exported without being used in the US to receive 99% of the duties paid back as a refund.  This is known as a duty drawback.