South Korea to seek US talks to shield Samsung and SK Hynix from Trump’s 25% AI chip tariffs
South Korea will hold direct talks with the United States to try to exempt major memory-chip exporters Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix from President Trump’s new 25% tariffs on certain advanced AI chips. Seoul’s presidential office and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo stressed that the first phase of the tariff proclamation targets high-end AI processors (such as Nvidia’s H200 and AMD’s MI325X) and does not currently include memory chips, so the immediate impact on Samsung and SK Hynix is expected to be limited. However, officials warned the tariff scope could expand quickly in later phases, and a prior joint fact sheet between South Korea and the U.S. — promising no worse treatment than other chipmaking countries — is now under pressure. The White House says the tariffs are narrow and exempt imports for U.S. data centers, public sector, consumer electronics and certain startups; but U.S. Commerce Secretary warned firms that do not invest in U.S. fabs could face tariffs up to 100%. The tariffs follow a nine-month Section 232 probe of advanced semiconductors and related equipment. South Korea intends to press for favorable terms to protect its chip industry and work with local companies to mitigate risks.
Neutral
The news is primarily trade-policy and geopolitics rather than direct crypto-market information; its market impact on cryptocurrencies is likely indirect and limited. Short-term: neutral-to-slightly negative for technology equities exposed to export risk due to policy uncertainty, which can increase risk-off sentiment and cause minor volatility across risk assets, including crypto. Traders may see short-lived spillovers if broader tech stocks decline, but the tariff narrowly targets high-end AI chips and currently excludes memory chips, reducing immediate disruption. Long-term: mixed — if tariffs expand and trigger larger supply-chain shifts or major factory investment incentives in the U.S., global tech capital flows could be affected, altering equity valuations and institutional appetite for crypto. Historical parallels: prior tariff or trade policy shocks (e.g., US-China tariff rounds) caused episodic volatility in equities and occasional crypto correlation during risk-off moves, but did not create a sustained directional trend for crypto. Overall, expect heightened short-term volatility in tech and regional markets, but no clear bullish or bearish structural signal for crypto markets unless policy escalates significantly.