On January 14, 2026, President Trump issued two proclamations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. § 1862), relating to imports of semiconductors and critical minerals (the “Semiconductor Proclamation” and “Critical Minerals Proclamation”, respectively). These proclamations—especially the Semiconductor Proclamation, which imposes an immediate 25% tariff on imports of certain semiconductors—will likely have significant impacts on U.S. trade in these sectors.
Semiconductor Proclamation
The Semiconductor Proclamation was issued based on the conclusion of a Section 232 investigation conducted by the Secretary of Commerce highlighting the United States’ heavy reliance on foreign semiconductor supply chains and the importance of semiconductors to defense systems, critical infrastructure, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (“AI”). The Semiconductor Proclamation concludes that imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and related derivative products threaten to impair U.S. national security.
The Semiconductor Proclamation adopts a multipronged approach to adjust semiconductor imports and strengthen the U.S. domestic technology supply chain. First, the United States will continue ongoing negotiations toward trade agreements that have the potential of strengthening the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Additionally, the proclamation imposes an immediate 25% ad valorem tariff on a “very narrow” subset of advanced computing chips that support national AI priorities. These additional tariffs became effective January 15, 2026. The proclamation includes an exemption for imports “to support the buildout of the United States technology supply chain,” but offers no details of how this exemption will be applied. Additional explicit exemptions also apply for imports of advanced computing chips for use in U.S. data centers, research and development, repairs and replacements, startups, consumer applications, non‑data‑center industrial applications, and for the public sector. Products covered by, and exempted from, this tariff are listed in an annex to the Semiconductor Proclamation. The Semiconductor Proclamation grants the Secretary of Commerce broad discretion to determine additional exemptions that advance U.S. technological capacity.
The Semiconductor Proclamation also contemplates broader and more significant tariffs on semiconductor imports—depending on the outcome of trade negotiations and determinations regarding U.S. national security—paired with a tariff offset program (the details of which have yet to be announced) intended to incentivize U.S. manufacturing and investment across the semiconductor ecosystem.
Critical Minerals Proclamation
The Critical Minerals Proclamation announces the President’s determination, based on a report submitted by the Secretary of Commerce following another Section 232 investigation, that the United States’ reliance on imports of processed critical minerals and their derivative products (“PCMDPs”), and the attendant decline in U.S. production, impairs U.S. national security. According to the Critical Minerals Proclamation, the Secretary’s report concluded that PCMDPs are essential inputs across the defense industrial base and all 16 critical infrastructure sectors, supporting everything from advanced weapons systems to energy storage, nuclear fuel, communications networks, and civilian electronics. The Critical Minerals Proclamation therefore directs the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to pursue negotiations with foreign trading partners to adjust PCMDP imports to levels that no longer threaten U.S. national security. The Critical Minerals Proclamation directs that the negotiations consider measures such as price floors or other trade restrictions. The President also directs that, depending on the outcome of these negotiations, additional measures, such as import restrictions or minimum import prices, may be implemented to achieve supply chain security. The Critical Minerals Proclamation grants broad authority to the Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Trade Representative, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to undertake regulatory and administrative actions to implement these directives, including issuance and modification of rules, guidance, and procedures. The proclamation does not currently impose any tariffs on imports of PCMDPs.
