Trump’s tariff threat puts semiconductors on display

President Trump’s message to global chipmakers is: Manufacture in the United States, and you won’t be slapped with a hefty tariff. 

"We'll be putting a tariff on approximately 100% on chips and semiconductors. But if you're building in the United States of America, there's no charge, even though you're building, and you're not producing yet in terms of the big numbers of jobs and all of the things that you're building. If you're building, there will be no charge", Trump said Wednesday after securing another $100 billion investment from Apple CEO Tim Cook. 

Apple's latest investment earmarked for the U.S. brings the tech giant's total commitment to $600 billion. 

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Larger chip stocks, including Nvidia, touched a new all-time high Thursday, capping its 33% gain this year. CEO Jensen Huang was also at the White House this week, Fox News confirmed. 

AMD, Applied Materials, ON and Taiwan Semiconductor rose Thursday, along with some of the largest exchange-traded funds that track the sector: VanEck Semiconductor ETF, iShares Semiconductor ETF and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X shares. 

On the flip side, Intel shares fell after Trump called on CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign, saying he is "highly conflicted," citing ties to China. 

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Tan in a statement, addressed the allegations. 

"Intel's success is essential to U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership, national security, and economic strength. This is what fuels our business around the world. It’s what motivated me to join this team, and it’s what drives me every day to advance the important work we’re doing together to build a stronger future…" a portion of the statement read. 

Even so, the Nasdaq Composite posted its 17th record close of 2025, making Invesco’s QQQ Trust Series ETF one of the most actively traded ETFs on Thursday. 

The Nasdaq has gained 10% this year, outpacing the S&P 500's 7.8% pop. 

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