Washington, Aug 16
US President Donald Trump has said his administration will unveil tariffs on semiconductor imports as early as next week, as South Korean tech firms Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been carefully watching his tariff policy developments.
Trump made the remarks in a meeting with reporters aboard Air Force One, as he was en route to Alaska for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- the high-stakes meeting where Trump is seeking to broker a halt to the war in Ukraine, reports news agency.
"Chips and semiconductors, we'll be setting sometime next week, (or) the week after," Trump said, according to a White House press pool report.
He did not elaborate on the exact tariff rate, but said there would be a tariff increase from a "lower" rate to a "very high" rate.
"Well, I'm going to have a rate that is going to be lower at the beginning. Then that gives them a chance to come in and build. And very high after a certain period of time," he said.