US Tariffs: Korea To Explore Ways To Help Chip Industry

Seoul: The government will "swiftly" devise support measures for the local chip industry to cushion the impact of the United States' planned tariffs on semiconductor imports, the industry minister said on Thursday.

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said the government measures will be announced in the very near future while meeting with officials from local chip manufacturers to discuss a response strategy against the planned US tariffs, reports Yonhap news agency.

US President Donald Trump has warned of tariffs on semiconductor imports since taking office in January, and reaffirmed the plan last week, saying they will begin "very soon."

In Thursday's meeting, semiconductor industry officials called on the government to actively negotiate with the US and devise support measures to minimise the tariffs' impact on local businesses, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The business officials noted the proposed tariffs may have a limited impact on the local chip industry, pointing to the US' limited production capacity and South Korea's high global market share, especially in high-value products, such as high bandwidth memory.

They still expressed serious concerns over growing uncertainties in the global trade market that may adversely affect the local industry, as well as the economy, according to the ministry.

The ministry said the government's potential support measures for the chip industry may include tariff response vouchers and efforts to reduce cost burdens from materials and components that rely heavily on imports.

The government is also reviewing expanding the domestic use of Korean-made chips for the national artificial intelligence (AI) computing centre and assisting Korean companies in exporting their chips to AI data centres in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.