Tech firms warn Trump’s looming chip tariffs could cripple US AI and data centers

Sources close to the White House suggest the Trump administration is poised to unveil an extensive tariff regime on semiconductors and potentially on a broad array of products that incorporate them. The Computer and Communications Industry Association, joined by roughly twenty trade groups, cautions that the approach could erase about $90 billion in U.S. GDP each year and cause about 20 percent of data-center projects slated through 2030 to be postponed or scrapped.

By targeting not only chips but also downstream items such as gaming consoles and data-center servers, the plan threatens to push investment abroad, undermining the administration’s stated aim of fostering domestic AI development. The group conveyed these concerns in a May letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, warning that the tariffs might also apply to used or refurbished equipment containing chips. Analysts note that the timing—potentially within weeks or months—could coincide with a critical period for AI innovation in the United States.