On January 14, United States president Donald Trump signed a proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose an immediate 25% tariff on a narrow category of advanced semiconductors, with the move targeting Nvidia H200 and AMD MI325X chips and justified on national security grounds related to heavy United States reliance on foreign manufacturing. The decision focuses on high performance accelerators used for artificial intelligence workloads and other advanced computing, and it reflects growing scrutiny of how United States technology supply chains intersect with strategic competition and security risks.
The measure singles out Nvidia and AMD products that are central to artificial intelligence development, cloud data centers, and advanced computing infrastructure, situating these devices within a broader debate over whether dependence on offshore foundries leaves the United States vulnerable. By invoking Section 232, the White House is framing semiconductor supply as a critical national security issue rather than a purely economic concern, and the tariff is structured to apply specifically to this narrow set of cutting edge chips rather than to the entire semiconductor sector. The action follows earlier policy discussions and warnings from officials and industry voices about the potential for tariffs under Section 232 to reshape semiconductor trade flows.
The move comes against a backdrop of escalating tariff frictions that have already affected the semiconductor industry, with prior Section 232 deliberations signaling that higher United States semiconductor tariffs could be on the table. Related coverage highlights how previous measures have hit the sector while at the same time providing incentives for China’s domestic chipmakers, and it situates the new tariff as part of a continuum of policy shifts across multiple administrations. The latest decision is expected to ripple through global supply chains tied to artificial intelligence chips, with implications for manufacturing strategies, China related exports, and security driven technology policy in Asia and beyond.
