The Trump administration’s escalating assault on the semiconductor sector, via punitive tariffs and the threat to international student visas, threatens to derail the very industry it claims to protect.
Under the guise of “national security,” the administration is pushing Section 232 tariffs on imported chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Simultaneously, it’s aiming to choke off the inflow of international students, which will particularly impact STEM fields, by targeting universities like Harvard. These moves, taken together, are a direct threat to U.S. technological and economic security.
It’s stupidity on a grand scale. And it’s legally shaky. Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — the very law the administration used to justify them. While the administration is appealing the decision, the ruling hopefully sends a clear message: there are limits to unilateral economic power.
Unfortunately, this legal setback hasn’t slowed the administration’s drive to kneecap the global semiconductor value chain, one of the most interconnected and innovation-driven supply systems in the world.
Read more: What’s Cooking at TechSplicit (and at my house) — June 3, 2025: President TACO’s Tech Tantrum Will Wreck US Semi LeadershipThe industry’s united warning
The comments submitted by industry leaders to the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) during its Section 232 review were unusually blunt. Qualcomm warned that tariffs could trigger retaliation and market closures, “jeopardizing” U.S. technological leadership and weakening our global R&D edge. Intel urged the administration to avoid undermining domestic wafer manufacturing by increasing input costs, noting that even small disruptions in the supply chain can have cascading effects.
Micron and Texas Instruments echoed similar concerns: broad tariffs would do more harm than good by raising costs, creating uncertainty, and incentivizing global customers to eliminate U.S. content from their designs.
Meanwhile, the EU, which is hardly a national security threat, called out the U.S. for abusing security pretexts to pursue industrial policy. The semiconductor ecosystem is global, and trying to reshuffle it with blunt-force tariffs is not only ineffective, but also self-destructive.
Tariffs don’t build foundries
American companies want to manufacture more chips at home. But that can’t happen overnight. And it certainly will not while raising the cost of foreign-sourced tools, materials, and customers. Tariffs imposed before U.S. foundries come online would increase costs, shrink profit margins, and reduce incentives for investment.
Qualcomm pointed out that it currently relies on overseas fabs like TSMC and Samsung because domestic capacity at advanced nodes is still catching up. Tariffing those inputs now is like taxing oxygen before you’ve finished building the lungs.
The Wall Street crowd has started calling Trump, who has demonstrated a knack for giving creating derogatory nicknames, “President TACO” (Trump Always Chickens Out), a nod to his history of backing off bad ideas under pressure. We can only hope this proves true again. Because if not, these tariffs will certainly backfire.
Sabotaging the STEM pipeline
On a second front, the administration’s rhetoric against international students is no less dangerous. Intel noted in its BIS filing that over half of graduate students in key fields like electrical engineering and computer science are foreign nationals. In some programs, the figure is even higher.
Restricting these students’ ability to study, work, and stay in the U.S. won’t protect American jobs. Instead it’ll outsource our future R&D to rivals like China and India. These students are the researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs who fuel our innovation engine. As Paul Krugman recently highlighted, “Our nation’s ability to attract foreigners to study here is one of our great strengths” while also employing more people than the agriculture sector.
A strategic error, not a strategy
Today, the U.S. leads the world in chip design. But that edge depends on two critical things: access to global markets and access to global talent. This administration is threatening both.
Instead of bolstering our position, these moves risk a damaging cycle: higher costs, lost markets, retaliation abroad, and shrinking R&D at home. Allies and competitors alike will seize the opportunity.
The semiconductor industry needs long-term vision and stable policy. It does not need chaos masquerading as strategy. We must continue to hope — and lobby — to ensure Congress and the courts ultimately act as the guardrails that prevent President TACO from driving American tech off a cliff.
Still have your appetite? I hope what’s cooking at my house doesn’t make you lose it.
We recently turned our driveway into a stage and smokehouse for a celebration like no other. In May, my son hit a milestone birthday, so naturally we decided to honor the moment with a double roast. One guest of honor spent the day slowly turning over hot coals, lovingly watched (and occasionally basted) by Tony, the Oinkmaster — an engineer and third-generation pig roaster whose grandfather brought the family recipe and roasting rig straight from the Philippines. Tony treated that pig like royalty, murmuring to it in Tagalog as if coaxing it into culinary porcine nirvana.
Meanwhile, the second roast took place in my yard, with friends and family passing the mic and lovingly incinerating my son with stories, inside jokes, and just enough embarrassment to make him reconsider future birthdays.
By the end of the evening, both roasts were beautifully done — one crispy and golden, the other slightly red-faced but smiling.
Tony didn’t share his recipe, and I don’t anticipate anyone roasting a 75-lb. pig, so I will share a recipe I have made (and shared a while back) for a spectacular Korean-style pork shoulder that is excellent for feeding a (smaller) crowd. It does take a while to prepare — almost as long as Tony’s amazing roast pig — but it is delicious.
Momofuku’s Bo Ssam — David Chang and Peter Meehan, adapted by Sam Sifton, NYTimes
Serves 6-10 Time: 7 hours, plus 6 hours’ seasoning
Pork Butt
Ingredients
- 1 whole bone-in pork butt or picnic ham (8 to 10 pounds)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 7 tablespoons brown sugar
Ginger Scallion Sauce
- 2½ cups thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts
- ½ cup peeled, minced fresh ginger
- ¼ cup neutral oil (like grapeseed)
- 1½ teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 scant teaspoon sherry vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Ssam Sauce
- 2 tablespoons fermented bean-and-chili paste (ssamjang, available in many Asian markets, and online)
- 1 tablespoon chili paste (gochujang, available in many Asian markets, and online)
- ½ cup sherry vinegar
- ½ cup neutral oil (like grapeseed)
Accompaniments
- 2 cups plain white rice, cooked
- 3 heads bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed, and dried
- 1 dozen or more fresh oysters (optional)
- Kimchi (available in many Asian markets, and online)
Preparation
- Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl. Mix the white sugar and 1 cup of salt together in another bowl, then rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 300°F. Remove pork from the refrigerator, brush any excess sugar mixture off the fat cap and discard any juices. Place the pork in a roasting pan and set it in the oven and cook for approximately 6 hours, or until it collapses, yielding easily to the tines of a fork. (After the first hour, baste hourly with pan juices.) At this point, you may remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for up to an hour.
- Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion sauce. In a large bowl, combine the scallions with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and taste, adding salt if needed.
- Make the ssam sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the chili pastes (the ssamjang and gochujang) with the vinegar and oil, and mix well.
- Prepare rice, wash lettuce and, if using, shuck the oysters. Put kimchi and sauces into serving bowls.
- When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn the oven to 500°F. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat. Serve hot, with the accompaniments.
Enjoy!
Mike Markowitz is Editor-at-Large of TechSplicit. He can be reached at mike@techsplicit.com.
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