[News] TSMC Likely to Raise Advanced Node Prices by over 15% in 2025 as Trump’s Chip Tariffs Approach

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A couple of days ago, President Donald Trump has vowed to impose sector-specific tariffs on chips, oil, gas and more. With rising chip tariffs and production costs on the way, foundry giant TSMC is likely to raise prices for advanced nodes by over 15% in 2025, up from the previously expected 5% to 10%, as highlighted by a report from Commercial Times.

The U.S. has been tightening restrictions on China’s access to advanced chips. Its latest effort, announced in mid-January, plans stricter export controls on chips from TSMC, Intel, GlobalFoundries, Samsung and others, targeting processors with 30 billion transistors made on 14nm, 16nm, or more cutting-edge nodes.

According to Bloomberg, Trump, as he kicked start his second term, signaled that chip tariffs are inevitable, with potential implementation as early as February 18.

The Commercial Times report notes that due to Trump’s 2.0 tariff policy, TSMC will have to raise prices for advanced processes below 7nm by over 15% to offset rising costs. Luckily, as the leading foundry, the semiconductor giant has strong pricing power, and costs can be passed on to customers, the report adds.

However, whether subsidies under the CHIPS Act could be disbursed as planned could be another concern. As highlighted by Bloomberg, Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s nominee for US Commerce Secretary which oversees the $52 billion semiconductor subsidy program, declined to give it unqualified support, casting doubt on how funds will be allocated to companies like Intel and TSMC.

According to Commercial Times, without subsidies, TSMC’s Arizona plant would achieve only 70% of the profitability of its Taiwan facilities, dragging down overall gross margins.

Read more

• [News] Biden Tightens Control on 14/16nm Chip Exports; Expands Blacklist to Include China’s Sophgo
• [News] TSMC: U.S. Chip Export Controls “Manageable”; Arizona Fabs Progress Ahead of Schedule

(Photo credit: TSMC)