According to two insiders, the new round of tariff policy proposed by President Trump could cause USA semiconductor equipment manufacturers to lose more than 1 billion dollars annually. This estimate was made after discussions last week in Washington with government officials and lawmakers, and the relevant costs have been disclosed for the first time.

It is reported that the three major semiconductor equipment manufacturers in the USA,$Applied Materials (AMAT.US)$、$Lam Research (LRCX.US)$and$KLA Corp (KLAC.US)$Each company may thus lose approximately $0.35 billion. In addition, smaller competitors such as $Onto Innovation (ONTO.US)$, also face pressure for additional expenses amounting to tens of millions of dollars.

The chip equipment manufactured by these companies is in high demand globally, often requiring tens of thousands of highly specialized components. They have already lost billions in revenue due to a series of export controls implemented by former President Biden aimed at restricting advanced chip manufacturing equipment from flowing into China.

The reciprocal tariffs announced by the Trump administration in April of this year have basically been on hold, but to promote domestic manufacturing, further tariffs on the semiconductor industry are being considered, and a relevant import investigation was initiated this past Monday.

It is reported that the anticipated cost, which could be up to a billion dollars, includes several aspects: first, the revenue loss due to the loss of sales of mid- to low-end equipment to overseas customers; second, the human and time costs required to find alternative suppliers; and third, the staffing and administrative costs incurred due to compliance with complicated tariff regulations.

These estimates are still preliminary rough calculations, as each chip equipment is composed of multiple components, and the specific tariff policies have not yet been clarified, making it difficult for companies to quickly assess the actual impact. Washington is in ongoing communication and dialogue with chip industry executives and representatives of the Global Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI).

It is noteworthy that under the pressure of U.S. export restrictions, China has accelerated its investment in the domestic semiconductor equipment industry, striving to reduce dependence on the U.S. and achieve technological independence.

Meanwhile, the chip giant$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$stated this Tuesday that its first quarter Earnings Reports will include costs of about 5.5 billion dollars related to its H20 product. This H20 chip is currently the only product that NVIDIA is legally allowed to sell to China by the USA government. The costs involve inventory, procurement commitments, and related reserves, and after the announcement, NVIDIA's stock price dropped over 6% in after-hours Trade.

Editor/Rocky