The Trump administration is weighing a second round of semiconductor tariffs that would extend duties beyond raw chips to finished goods built with them — including laptops, gaming consoles and AI data-center servers — with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pushing to peg each importer's duty-free quota to its committed US chip-manufacturing investment, eight sources told Politico in a report picked up on August 27.
January's data-center carve-out at risk
The framework under discussion would rewrite Proclamation 11002, signed on January 14, which imposed a 25% duty on a narrow set of advanced accelerators (Nvidia H200 and AMD MI325X were named in the fact sheet) and labeled the action Phase 1. That order carved out data centers, R&D, startups, repairs, and non-data-center consumer and industrial uses; those exemptions may not carry over to Phase 2. A phase-in period is under discussion, and Commerce has not committed to a final structure.
The quota mechanic
Under Lutnick's preferred structure, tariff-free chip imports would be capped at a volume proportional to each company's committed US manufacturing capacity — extending logic already applied to Taiwan under the January trade deal, which allows zero-tariff shipments up to 2.5x current US fab output while new plants are being built, tightening to 1.5x once those are online. TSMC has committed $265 billion to its Arizona site, the biggest foreign direct investment in US history, but industry representatives argued that even that scale can't cover volumes hyperscalers are ordering during today's AI capex boom.
Hyperscalers and startups: the math turns hostile
The Computer and Communications Industry Association — whose members include Amazon, Google and Meta — warned the setup would penalise cloud operators without US fab positions. Its digital-policy chief compared the data-center buildout to "building the transcontinental railroad" and said cost unpredictability puts investment at risk. The CCIA estimated in June that broad tariffs could cost the US around $90 billion in GDP annually and delay or cancel roughly 20% of planned data-center projects through 2030.
What it means for AI infrastructure buyers
If the Phase 2 rule lands as described, three effects follow. Server bill-of-materials cost jumps overnight for anyone importing finished systems, forcing more assembly onshore. Custom-silicon programs — like Marvell's $120B Google deal and OpenAI's Broadcom-built Jalapeño — become more valuable if they carry US-fab commitments that unlock duty-free volume. And the deal-mechanics for foreign suppliers reshape around any pledge that helps a US buyer stretch its duty-free quota. The White House said reshoring "is a top priority for the president"; Commerce didn't respond to comment requests. Tech lobbyists have been meeting more frequently with Lutnick and BIS undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler since summer, but three sources said recent talks moved against industry.
Reporting based on coverage from Politico, Tom's Hardware and Data Center Dynamics.