Trump Says Tariff Rate on Semiconductors Could Reach 300%. Nvidia and AMD Stocks Fall.

President Donald Trump said tariffs on some items could reach 200% or 300%. (Getty Images)

President Donald Trump indicated that tariffs on certain items could climb as high as 300% in a conversation with reporters Friday.

“They’re all coming in ’cause they want to beat the tariffs,” Trump said aboard Air Force One, according to an audio recording obtained by Barron’s. “If they don’t open here, they have to pay, in some cases, 200%, 300%. I haven’t even set some of the tariffs yet.”

The president indicated he would set tariff rates on chips and steel sometime in the next two weeks. The rates will be “lower at the beginning … and very high after a certain period of time,” Trump said, though he didn’t provide specifics.

Shares of chip makers declined following the announcement. Advanced Micro Devices , Broadcom , and Nvidia were down 1.3%, 1.1%, and 0.9%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1%.

Trump said last week that he planned to implement a roughly 100% tax on semiconductor imports during an event with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Companies that shift manufacturing to the U.S. will be exempt, he added.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com