United States of America: President signed Proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act national security concerns with respect to imports of semiconductors

On 14 January 2026, the President of the United States signed a Proclamation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 concerning imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and related derivative products. The Proclamation introduces a 25% tariff on certain advanced computing chips, including the NVIDIA H200 and AMD MI325X models. The measure provides exemptions for chips imported for purposes related to the development of the domestic technology supply chain and the expansion of domestic manufacturing capacity for semiconductor derivatives. The Proclamation follows a Section 232 investigation conducted by the Secretary of Commerce, which found that existing levels and conditions of imports may affect national security due to limitations in domestic production capacity. The stated objective of the measure is to address supply chain dependencies and support domestic semiconductor manufacturing.