On Monday, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo cautioned that President Donald Trump’s tariff policy could pose significant near-term risks to semiconductor stocks, highlighting that even Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) $500 billion U.S. investment couldn’t secure leniency from the administration’s aggressive approach.
What Happened: Kuo took to X and expressed concerns about the impact of the Trump administration’s potential semiconductor tariff policies.
“I’m taking a cautious stance on the upcoming semiconductor tariff policy under the Trump administration. Investors should stay alert to the near-term risks surrounding semiconductor stocks,” Kuo said.
He indicated that the administration’s reliance on tariffs as a tool to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. might lead to challenges for semiconductor companies.
Kuo pointed to Apple as a key case study in this context. Despite its substantial efforts to shift its supply chain away from China during Trump’s first term and its $500 billion investment in the U.S., Apple did not escape tariffs.
“You’d think such efforts would earn some leniency, but they didn’t,” Kuo explained.
This raised critical questions about the approach to semiconductor tariffs, particularly for non-U.S. companies. “Have non-U.S. semiconductor …