Turnberry/Edinburgh, Scotland (Reuters) – The Trump government will announce the results of a national security investigation on semiconductors in two weeks, said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday when President Donald Trump suggested that higher tariffs were on the horizon.
Lutnick told reporters after a meeting between Trump and European Commission chairman Ursula von der Leyen, that the investigation was one of the “main reasons” why the European Union sought to negotiate a broader trade agreement than “solving everything at once.”
Trump said many companies would be investing in semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, including some from Taiwan and elsewhere, to avoid being hit by new tariffs.
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He said von der Leyen had avoided pendant tariffs on chips “in a much better way.”
Trump and von der Leyen have announced a new trade agreement that includes 15% general rates on EU imports entering the United States.
Trump said the deal includes cars, which face a higher rate of 25% under a separate sector tariff action.
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In April, the Trump government said it was investigating if the great dependence on foreign imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors represented a threat to national security.
The investigation, conducted in accordance with Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Law, could establish the foundations for new tariffs on imports in both sectors.
