President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday that Seoul does not take Washington’s recent threat to impose a 100 percent tariff on semiconductors seriously. Describing the move as a typical attempt to gain leverage in trade talks, he said the government will respond to the issue based on standards and principles. “As far as I know, Taiwan and Korea hold about 80 to 90 percent of the global semiconductor market, so a 100 percent tariff by the United States would eventually raise its consumer prices by nearly the same margin,” Lee told reporters during a nationally televised New Year’s press conference. “Most of the tariffs would be passed on to U.S. commodity prices.” Lee made the remarks as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix face the Donald Trump administration’s threat of steep tariffs on all memory chips, not only advanced ones already subject to the 25 percent duty. Last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged global memory chip manufacturers to choose between paying a 100 percent tariff or building a new plant in his country. Uncertainty has deepened after Taiwanese c
President downplays US threat of 100% chip tariff
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Latest Entertainment from Korea
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Learn People & History of Korea
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