SEMI (Milpitas, CA) announced its support for calls on the Trump administration yesterday by nearly 50 members of Congress to remove tariffs on U.S. semiconductor products imported from China. In a bipartisan letter to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the members of the House of Representatives--led by Reps. Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the House co-chairs of the Congressional Semiconductor Caucus--stressed the importance of semiconductors in the modern economy and argued that the duties will do nothing to address concerns regarding China's trade practices.

SEMI fully supports the Congressional recommendation and believes that the proposed tariffs will ultimately reduce semiconductor-related exports, limit technology innovation, introduce significant uncertainty in the semiconductor supply chain, and cost U.S. companies an estimated more than $500 million annually. The tariffs also threaten to raise prices of semiconductor products and put thousands of high-paying and high skill jobs at risk. Already, SEMI has testified before a U.S. government interagency panel weighing the merits of the tariffs, urging the Trump administration to eliminate tariffs on semiconductor products.

SEMI connects more than 2000 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Association Partners.