U.S. Semiconductor Tariffs Start Jan 15 at 25%

16 January 2026 07 MINS. Read USA

Narrow Semiconductors Tariffs Start Jan 15

On January 14, 2026, U.S. President Trump announced new Section 232 tariffs on a narrow scope of semiconductors. Beginning January 15, 2026, articles classified under one of three tariff subheadings and meeting specific criteria are subject to an additional 25%. Several exemptions are available for products used to “buildout the U.S. technology supply chain.”

The Secretary, the Trade Representative, and other senior officials are being encouraged by the President to continue pursuing negotiations and agreements to address the threatened impairment of national security posed by imported semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products. Updates are due to the President within 90 days.

In the future, depending on the results of ongoing negotiations, the tariffs may change, possibly expanding their scope or eliminating them if it is found that they are no longer necessary.

Key Details

Effective Date

January 15, 2026

Products Covered

9903.79.01 – 25% additional ad valorem duty

Semiconductor articles meeting certain technical parameters, as provided in U.S. note 39(b) to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS, and that are classifiable in the following HTSUS provisions:

8471.50
8471.80
8473.30

The imported products must be a logic integrated circuit, or an article that contains a logic integrated circuit, that meets the technical parameters of having:

(1) a total processing performance (TPP) greater than 14,000 and less than 17,500, and a total DRAM bandwidth greater than 4,500 GB/s and less than 5,000 GB/s; or

(2) a TPP greater than 20,800 and less than 21,100, and total DRAM bandwidth greater than 5,800 GB/s and less than 6,200 GB/s.

For complete definitions of semiconductor articles subject to 9903.79.01–9903.79.09, please refer to the Annex.

Exemptions

Products meeting the definitions of the below exemptions are not subject to the ad valorem duty.

9903.79.02: Semiconductor articles that are classifiable under provisions of the HTSUS subject to HTSUS 9903.79.01 but that do not meet the required technical parameters.

9903.79.03: Semiconductor articles that are for use in U.S. data centers. A “U.S. data center” refers to a facility that requires greater than 100 megawatts (MW) of new load dedicated to AI inference, training, simulation, or synthetic data generation.

9903.79.04: Semiconductor articles that are for repairs or replacement in the United States.

9903.79.05: Semiconductor articles that are for research and development in the United States. “Research and development” is defined as any activity that is (a) a systematic, intensive study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the subject studied; (b) a systematic study directed specifically toward applying new knowledge to meet a recognized need; or (c) a systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, devices, services or methods, and includes design, development and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements.

9903.79.06: Semiconductor articles, that are for use by startups in the United States. A “startup” is an “emerging growth company,” as defined at 15 U.S.C. § 77b(a)(19).

9903.79.07: 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: 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: Semiconductor articles that are for use in United States public sector applications.

Unstacking – Not Subject to Certain Additional Duties

Merchandise properly filed under HTSUS 9903.79.01 is not subject to the additional duties imposed on:

entries of passenger vehicles and light trucks under headings 9903.94.01, 9903.94.03, 9903.94.31, 9903.94.40, 9903.94.41, 9903.94.50, 9903.94.51, 9903.94.60 and 9903.94.61;
entries of parts for passenger vehicles and light trucks under headings 9903.94.05, 9903.94.07, 9903.94.32, 9903.94.33, 9903.94.42, 9903.94.43, 9903.94.44, 9903.94.45, 9903.94.52, 9903.94.53, 9903.94.54, 9903.94.55, 9903.94.62, 9903.94.63, 9903.94.64 and 9903.94.65;
entries of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles under headings 9903.74.01, 9903.74.02 and 9903.74.03;
entries of parts of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles under headings 9903.74.08 and 9903.74.09;
entries of semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products under heading 9903.78.01;
entries of products of aluminum under headings 9903.85.02 and 9903.85.12;
entries of derivative aluminum products under headings 9903.85.04, 9903.85.07, 9903.85.08, 9903.85.13, 9903.85.14 and 9903.85.15;
entries of iron or steel products under headings 9903.81.87, 9903.81.88, 9903.81.94 and 9903.81.95;
entries of derivative iron or steel products under headings 9903.81.89, 9903.81.90, 9903.81.91, 9903.81.93, 9903.81.96, 9903.81.97, 9903.81.98 and 9903.81.99;
entries of articles the product of Canada under heading 9903.01.10;
entries of articles the product of Mexico under heading 9903.01.01; and
entries of articles under headings 9903.01.24–9903.01.76 and 9903.02.01–9903.02.71.

Exemptions from Other Tariff Actions

Merchandise that is properly subject to duties under heading 9903.79.01 is not subject to the following additional duties by applying the associated exemption number to those tariffs:

Reciprocal Tariffs – 9903.01.33
IEEPA Brazil – 9903.01.83
IEEPA Russian Oil (India) – 9903.01.87

Drawback

No drawback shall be available with respect to the duties imposed by the January 14, 2026, Proclamation.

Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ)

Any product described in clause (3) of the January 14, 2026 Proclamation, except those eligible for admission as “domestic status” as described in 19 CFR 146.43, that is subject to a duty imposed by the January 14, 2026 Proclamation and that is admitted into a United States foreign trade zone on or after the effective date of the January 14, 2026 Proclamation must be admitted as “privileged foreign” status as described in 19 CFR 146.41, and will be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTSUS subheading.

Chapter 98 and Chapter 99 Provisions

Goods for which entry is claimed under a provision of chapter 98 and that are subject to the additional duties prescribed by the January 14, 2026, Proclamation are eligible for and subject to the terms of such provision and applicable CBP regulations, except that duties under subheading 9802.00.60 will be assessed based upon the full value of the imported article. However, for any such products that are eligible for special tariff treatment under any of the free trade agreements or preference programs listed in general note 3(c)(i) to the HTSUS, the duties provided in heading 9903.79.01 will be collected in addition to any special rate of duty otherwise applicable under the appropriate tariff subheading. No claim for entry or for any duty exemption or reduction will be allowed for semiconductor articles enumerated in subdivision (b) of U.S. note 39 to subchapter III of chapter 99 under a provision of chapter 99 that may set forth a lower rate of duty or provide duty-free treatment, taking into account information supplied by CBP, but any additional duty prescribed in any provision of subchapter III or subchapter IV of chapter 99 will be imposed in addition to the duties in heading 9903.79.01.

FAQ

Which reciprocal tariff exemption should be applied? 9903.01.33 or 9903.01.32?

For goods that are properly classified in subheading 8473.30 and properly subject to duties under heading 9903.79.01, filers should use heading 9903.01.33 (for products subject to section 232 duties), rather than heading 9903.01.32 (for products covered by Annex II of Executive Order 14257, as amended) to declare the exemption from reciprocal tariffs.

For merchandise properly classified in subheading 8473.30, but which is not properly subject to duties under heading 9903.79.01, because it is covered an exclusion as provided in headings 9903.79.02-9903.79.09, heading 9903.01.32 may be used.