In response to the recent news of the United States imposing a 25% import tariff on a limited range of semiconductor products, the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry stated on Tuesday (January 20) that this policy currently has a negligible impact on Singapore.
This is because the 25% tariff only targets a small number of advanced chips, which are not currently produced in Singapore.
In a statement provided to Lianhe Zaobao, the Ministry said: &#34;After consulting with the industry, we have initially assessed that the first phase of the semiconductor tariff measures announced on January 14, 2026 (Eastern Time) only applies to a small number of semiconductor products that are not currently produced in Singapore, thus having a negligible impact on Singapore.&#34;
The Ministry added: &#34;We will continue to closely monitor the developments.&#34;
Last week, the White House announced that it would impose import tariffs on this sub-sector in two phases. The first phase, effective from January 15, imposes a 25% tariff on a &#34;very limited range&#34; of semiconductor products during negotiations with trade partners, including chip products that are significant to the U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) and technology strategy.
<h3>Nvidia and AMD Chips May Be Affected by Tariffs</h3>
Currently, potentially affected semiconductor products include Nvidia's H200 chip and AMD's MI325X chip, most of which are produced in Taiwan.
<h4>Further Reading</h4>
U.S. Urges Chip Makers to Expand Production in the U.S., or Face 100% Tariff

 Taiwan and U.S. Reach Trade Agreement to Reduce Tariffs to 15%
The U.S. statement indicated that if imported semiconductor products are used to support the construction of the U.S. technology supply chain or enhance the manufacturing capacity of U.S. semiconductor derivatives, they may be exempt from tariffs.
An attachment released by the White House further clarified that imported semiconductors used for data centers, research and development, startups, and non-data center consumer products are also not subject to the additional tariffs.
However, despite Trump delaying the imposition of tariffs on a broader range of imported semiconductor products, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will still engage in consultations with trade partners regarding semiconductor imports and report the progress of negotiations to Trump within 90 days
According to the negotiation results, the United States plans to impose broader and higher tariffs on semiconductor imports in the second phase, while still including offset clauses to provide tariff benefits for companies investing in specific aspects of semiconductor manufacturing and supply chains in the U.S.
Citibank's analysis suggests that although the chips affected in the first phase mainly come from Taiwan, the U.S. reached a trade agreement with Taiwan on January 15, reducing tariffs to 15%. At the same time, semiconductor manufacturers like TSMC, which plan to expand investment or production scale in the U.S., are expected to enjoy more tariff benefits. &#34;This agreement establishes a more predictable framework for tariff policy.&#34;

The Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry stated that the United States' policy of imposing a 25% import tariff on a limited range of semiconductor products has a minimal impact on Singapore. This tariff only targets a small portion of advanced chips that are not produced in Singapore. The Ministry mentioned in a statement that after consultations with the industry, the preliminary assessment indicates that this policy has limited effects on Singapore, and it will continue to monitor the situation. The White House announced that tariffs on this industry will be imposed in two phases, with the first phase starting on January 15, primarily targeting chip products that are important to the U.S. AI and technology strategy

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Ministry of Trade and Industry: The impact of U.S. tariffs on AI chips on Singapore is minimal | Lianhe Zaobao