Proposed US tariffs on chips could raise AI data-center costs and strain supply chains

A draft policy under the Trump administration would widen existing semiconductor tariffs to include finished hardware like servers, consumer laptops and gaming systems, potentially raising the cost of AI data-center construction. The plan, reported by eight sources, is being shaped by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is pushing for a system that ties tariff exemptions to foreign companies’ pledges to invest in US chip-fabrication facilities, with a gradual implementation schedule under consideration.

The proposal arrives as US tech firms grapple with a severe shortage of high-performance chips amid unprecedented AI-driven demand. While domestic manufacturing is championed, new fabs require billions of dollars and several years to become operational, leaving American cloud operators dependent on overseas supply chains that dominate over 90% of advanced logic chips. Companies warn that added duties on imported silicon could curtail the compute boom by limiting server-farm expansion, and that the projected duty-free quotas would fall short of the sector’s needs, even as TSMC expects its Arizona plant to supply roughly 30% of its advanced output.