Commerce secretary says Anthropic is back in good standing with the Trump administration

The Trump administration is contemplating a series of tariffs on semiconductors that could extend to other tech products like laptops, gaming consoles, and data-center servers, according to POLITICO. The proposed tariffs have been met with warnings from technology companies that they could hinder America's ambitions in the global artificial intelligence (AI) race due to higher costs and restricted access to advanced chips.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick supports a strategy that would tie tariff relief for foreign companies to investments in US semiconductor manufacturing. The administration is also contemplating introducing the tariffs gradually, although this plan is still in flux and may undergo substantial changes in the weeks or months ahead.

The potential tariffs have raised concerns within the US technology industry, which is already grappling with shortages of high-end semiconductors driven by the rapid construction of AI data centers. While tech companies generally back President Donald Trump's efforts to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the US, they argue that establishing domestic chip factories necessitates billions of dollars and years to build.

Until such capacity expands, US firms will continue to rely heavily on imported chips from Asian suppliers, with Taiwan alone producing over 90% of the world's most advanced semiconductors. The debate underscores a potential clash between two key priorities of the Trump administration: reviving semiconductor manufacturing in the US and securing a leading position in the global AI race.

The White House maintains that semiconductor reshoring is a top administration priority and has already attracted billions of dollars in investments in the sector. However, technology companies and industry lobbyists are urging the administration to soften the proposed tariffs, favoring measures that maintain broad exemptions for data centers and other domestic uses.

The concerns arise as major US technology firms embark on a record AI spending spree, dedicating hundreds of billions of dollars to large data-center projects and advanced chips. Some industry insiders fear that the tariff proposal could significantly impede US efforts to establish AI leadership, calling it "kneecapping yourself at the starting line."