| | | Chip stocks fluctuate as EU gets set to retaliate against Trump's tariffs
Apr. 07, 2025 4:15 PM ET
By: Ravikash Bakolia, SA News Editor
Chip stocks fluctuated on Monday even as the European Union indicated it would retaliate against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
The 27-country bloc faces could likely approve a first set of targeted countermeasures on up to $28B of U.S. imports, such as U.S. meat, wine, cereals, wood, clothing, chewing gum, dental floss, vacuum cleaners, toilet paper, and diamonds.
European chip stocks such as Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML ended the session up 1.7%, while French-Italian STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) tacked on 1.9%. Shares of Germany-based Infineon Technologies ( OTCQX:IFNNY) ( OTCQX:IFNNF) declined about 2% in Germany, while Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors' ( NXPI) went eked out a gain of 1.5%.
The potential move by the EU would place it alongside countries such as China and Canada, who have imposed retaliatory tariffs on the U.S.
“We are already finalizing a first package of countermeasures in response to tariffs on steel,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said on April 3. “And we are now preparing for further countermeasures, to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail.”
The EU faces 25% import tariffs on steel and aluminum and cars, and “reciprocal” tariffs of 20% from Wednesday for almost all other goods. The European Commission proposed to its members a list of U.S. products to hit with extra duties in response to Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs rather than the broader reciprocal duties, according to a report by Reuters.
U.S. tariffs cover about 70% of the E.U.'s exports to the U.S., worth about total €532B ($585B) last year. Levied are likely to placed on copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and timber, the report added.
On Monday, Luxembourg will host the first EU-wide political meeting since Trump announced his tariff policy. Ministers responsible for trade from the EU member states will discuss the impact and how best to respond.
France has said the EU should work on a package that goes beyond tariffs and French President Emmanuel Macron indicated that European companies should suspend investments in the U.S. until “things are clarified”, the report noted.
Ireland wants a “considered and measured” response, while Italy has questioned if the EU should hit back at all, the report added.
On Wednesday, the initial EU counter-tariffs would be put to vote and will be approved unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members representing 65% of the EU's population oppose it, according to the report.
Other chip stocks ended the session mixed, as Nvidia ( NVDA) gained more than 3.5%, while competitors AMD ( AMD) and Intel ( INTC) lost ground. Broadcom ( AVGO) jumped more than 5.3% while Qualcomm ( QCOM) rose nearly 1.8%.
Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM) ended down 0.4%, while other companies in the space, including Analog Devices ( ADI) GlobalFoundries ( GFS), Micron ( MU) and Texas Instruments ( TXN) ended higher.
Chip stocks tumbled last week after Trump's tariffs were announced on trading partners, despite semiconductors being listed among imports exempted from the tariffs. |
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