According to reports, the administration of current US President Joe Biden is launching an investigation that will provide the next US President Trump with a choice of whether to impose new tariffs on Chinese made semiconductor chips.

On December 23rd, the Biden administration announced an investigation into so-called basic chips (also known as traditional or mature node semiconductors) made in China. Although the basic chip technology is not as advanced as chips driven by artificial intelligence, it is widely used in industries such as automobiles, airplanes, medical equipment, and telecommunications.

US officials have stated that if the chip supply chain overly relies on China, the chip industry may pose a national security risk to the United States. Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce of the United States, said: "We need to establish an elastic chip supply chain, because during the COVID-19 epidemic, it is difficult for us to get the chips we want." She added that the dependence of the United States on overseas chip suppliers has disrupted the production line and pushed up the cost of household goods.

Gina Raimondo and other US officials pointed out that "due to China's desire to dominate the global chip market and its subsidies to the Chinese chip industry, the US investigation into China's basic chips is a necessary condition for taking legal action

The Biden administration will initiate an investigation into Chinese semiconductors under Section 301, and the US Trade Representative will determine whether China's actions fall under the category of "unreasonable" or "discriminatory" and whether they impose a burden on US trade based on the investigation results. If so, the future US government may impose countermeasures such as tariffs, restrict imports, or suggest further action by the US President and Congress.

This semiconductor investigation may take several months to reach a conclusion, at which point the Trump administration will decide whether and what measures need to be taken. In addition, the Trump administration plans to impose extensive tariffs on products imported from China. Trump said he will nominate Jamieson Greer as the United States Trade Representative to replace Katherine Tai.

The Biden administration has taken action to support the US semiconductor industry, such as implementing the Chip and Science Act and restricting the export of advanced chip technology to China. US officials are concerned that China may monopolize the market with more traditional and easily accessible chips, thereby strengthening its control over the chip industry. In May of this year, the Biden administration also announced that it would increase tariffs on traditional Chinese semiconductors from the current 25% to 50% by 2025.