The Trump administration plans to exempt major technology companies, including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, from upcoming tariffs on semiconductor chips as they expand artificial intelligence data center capacity, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The proposed carve-outs would apply to firms building large-scale AI infrastructure in the United States.
According to the report, the exemptions would be administered by the Commerce Department and linked to investment commitments associated with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is investing $165 billion to build advanced manufacturing facilities in Arizona, part of a broader push to strengthen domestic semiconductor production.
An administration official told the Financial Times that the plans remain under discussion and have not yet been approved by President Donald Trump. The potential exemptions reflect the growing importance of AI data centers to U.S. economic and national security priorities, as well as the government’s effort to balance trade policy with domestic technology investment.
The move would benefit leading cloud and AI providers that rely heavily on advanced chips for training and deploying large AI models. It also highlights how AI infrastructure spending is influencing trade, industrial policy, and semiconductor supply chains.
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