The United States ends the previous government's investigation into China's chip trade and will not impose additional tariffs on Chinese chips for the next 18 months

The US government announced on the 23rd that it will impose tariffs on Chinese chips in 2027, ending the trade investigation launched by the previous Biden administration against Chinese chips. According to US media analysis, although the US government claims that China's actions in the chip industry "harm US interests," it has ultimately decided not to impose additional tariffs on Chinese chips for at least 18 months. Bloomberg said that suspending the imposition of new tariffs is the latest signal from the US government seeking to consolidate the "ceasefire" agreement between China and the United States and stabilize Sino US relations.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative launched a 301 investigation into China's mature process chip industry in December last year, aiming to clarify the impact of the industry on the US economy. After nearly a year of soliciting opinions and evaluating data, the US announced the results on Tuesday of this week. According to Reuters, the Office of the US Trade Representative stated in a statement that China's pursuit of dominance in the semiconductor industry is "unreasonable" and constitutes a burden or restriction on US business activities, therefore the US can take action.

The New York Times reported that the government will first impose a 0% tariff on semiconductor imports from China, and plans to raise tariffs starting from June 2027. The specific amount has not been determined and will be announced at least 30 days in advance.

The latest statement from the US government marks the end of a year long investigation into traditional Chinese chips. The New York Times reported that these chips are widely used in smartphones, cars, household appliances, telecommunications networks, and even military weapons. According to reports, in recent years, lawmakers from both parties in the United States have become increasingly concerned that the country's increasing dependence on these products may pose a "national security threat." "China has invested heavily in the production of old chips, making it difficult for American factories producing similar products to maintain operations.

In recent years, this field has developed rapidly in China. The United States is attempting to alleviate the competitive pressure on domestic companies in the mature chip market through tariff measures, while reducing dependence on Chinese chip supply. "Zhou Wei, a researcher at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, told Global Times reporters on the 24th that the chip industry has highly globalized characteristics, and relying solely on tariff measures is difficult to reshape the industrial pattern. If the US ultimately takes action, its politicization of economic and trade issues may not only disrupt market mechanisms and increase costs for all parties, but also backfire on its high-tech industry and have a chain effect on multiple fields including artificial intelligence and other countries.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated at a regular press conference on the 24th that China firmly opposes the United States' indiscriminate imposition of tariffs and unreasonable suppression of Chinese industries. We urge the US to correct its erroneous practices as soon as possible, guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, to resolve their respective concerns through dialogue on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, to properly manage differences, and to maintain stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China US relations. If the US persists in its unilateral actions, China will resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, "said Lin Jian.

The New York Times quoted former US trade official Sarah Schumann's analysis that China is "very sensitive" to US actions against it or its companies. The report believes that the US government's temporary suspension of imposing new tariffs is part of a series of actions taken by the US to maintain the situation after reaching a trade "ceasefire" agreement with China. Reuters mentioned that the US has also postponed a regulation restricting the export of US technology to subsidiaries of blacklisted Chinese companies. In addition, the United States launched a review last week of Nvidia's sale of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China, despite strong dissatisfaction from hawkish politicians in the United States.

The latest measures preserve the US government's ability to impose tariffs while seeking to ease tensions with Beijing, "Reuters analyzed.

It is believed that the recent signals of relative restraint released by the US government are mainly aimed at not wanting to further intensify the economic and trade friction between China and the United States in the current international and domestic environment. After the results of the China US economic and trade consultations, the US also intends to maintain a relatively stable economic and trade atmosphere and avoid potential interference from relevant policy measures on high-level interactions and communication arrangements.

At present, the US government is conducting an investigation under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act, which covers products such as semiconductors and is considered a precursor to the imposition of tariffs. The New York Times reported that these tariffs were initially expected to be announced this summer, but US government officials have been weighing how to impose them in order to encourage the development of US manufacturing without damaging relations with China.