Trump & chip sector: Investors need 'supply chain resilience plan'
President-elect Donald Trump has made tariffs a key focus of his second term in the White House, proposing a 60% tariff on all goods from China. The impact of Trump's second term on the semiconductor sector, which has become especially important during the artificial intelligence (AI) era, has been debated, given the impact of tariffs and uncertainty around the CHIPS and Science Act. Moor Insights & Strategy founder, CEO, and chief analyst Patrick Moorhead and Tufts University professor of International History Christopher Miller join Seana Smith and Madison Mills on Catalysts to discuss their outlook for the chip sector under Trump 2.0. Moorhead expects Trump to be a "net positive" for the chip sector: "Trump doesn't want to be the president that tanked the tech stock market, and he certainly could do that if he puts any weight on the chip stocks that have been a tremendous part of the growth over the last four years." "With all of the advanced semiconductor manufacturing leaving the United States, or most of it, Trump's trying to get the best deal to bring it back in. I do not believe he will tank the stock market or major industries to make that happen," Moorhead notes. Miller — the author of Chip War: The Fight for World's Most Critical Technology — says Trump's chip policy is "being defined right now by the president-elect and his incoming administration," adding that tariffs will likely be a key component of his approach to the semiconductor sector, though there will likely be negotiations between his proposals and the actual policies. Amid uncertainty about Trump's actual policies and their impacts on chipmakers, Moorhead cautions investors saying they "should be looking into every one of their investment plays and seeing if they have a supply chain resilience plan. It's a what if [plan]." Watch the video above to learn more about the US-China trade war, the impact of major chipmakers, and more. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.