ISTANBUL

The US government is considering a new plan to drastically cut the United States' reliance on chips produced elsewhere, in an effort to promote American manufacturing and alter global supply chains, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The objective of the strategy is for chip makers to produce the same quantity of semiconductors in the US as their clients purchase from foreign manufacturers. According to persons familiar with the matter, businesses that fail to maintain a 1:1 ratio over time would be required to pay a tariff.

The new strategy is the outcome of President Donald Trump's statement from last month that tech businesses which increase their investments in the US will be exempt from up to 100% of semiconductor tariffs.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has discussed the notion with leaders in the chip business and told them that it could be necessary for economic security, according to the source.

“America cannot be reliant on foreign imports for the semiconductor products that are essential for our national and economic security,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “Unless officially announced by the administration, however, any reporting about our policymaking should be treated as speculative.”

Under the new plan, if a firm promised to construct one million chips in the US, it would be credited with that quantity over time, allowing the company and its clients to import until the factory was finished without having to pay customs. There may be a relief at the beginning of the process to provide businesses time to adapt and expand US capacity.

The new plan may challenge big tech firms such as Apple and Dell, which import products from abroad, while it may cause a boom for the companies increasing US production such as TSMC, Micron Technology, and GlobalFoundries.

The strategy may require businesses to monitor the manufacturing locations of all those chips and collaborate with chip manufacturers to gradually balance the quantity of items produced in the US and elsewhere.

The additional chip tariffs are anticipated to be announced following the conclusion of the administration's trade investigation into the impact of chip imports on national security.

Through the 2022 Chips Act, the government gave manufacturers billions of dollars in grants and other subsidies, but several businesses have lamented that consumers are still unwilling to pay more for American-made goods when they can purchase them elsewhere.