Industry estimates, US tariffs may cost chip equipment makers more than $1 billion

U.S. semiconductor equipment makers could face annual losses exceeding $1 billion due to new tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump's administration, according to industry calculations shared with officials and lawmakers in Washington last week. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the three largest U.S. chip equipment manufacturers—Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA—may each lose around $350 million annually due to these tariffs. Smaller companies like Onto Innovation could also incur tens of millions of dollars in additional costs.

This potential $1 billion impact on the chip equipment industry and the ongoing discussions between industry leaders and U.S. officials over the matter were reported for the first time. The companies in question produce some of the most advanced and highly sought-after equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing, which often requires thousands of specialized parts.

The chip equipment sector has already been financially impacted by previous actions under former President Joe Biden, who imposed export controls to limit the flow of high-tech semiconductor manufacturing tools to Chinese entities. These export restrictions have cost the industry billions in lost revenue.

While the Trump administration has largely suspended the reciprocal tariffs it announced in April, it is now considering further duties on the semiconductor sector to encourage more domestic manufacturing. As part of this effort, the administration launched an investigation into semiconductor imports earlier this week.

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