Semiconductor Stocks On Radar As Lutnick Says US Probe Into Chip Imports Will Drop In 2 Weeks — Retail Stays Hopeful

The results of the probe initiated by the Trump administration in mid-April into semiconductor imports on national security grounds are expected to be announced in two weeks.

While speaking to reporters, following the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, “In two weeks, we are going to come out with our Chips 232.”

The Trump official was referring to the probe initiated by his ministry under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which investigated the effects on national security of imports of semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME), as well as their derivative products.

The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), an exchange-traded fund that tracks chip stocks, has gained about 12.5% this year.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the SOXX ETF has improved to ‘bullish’ (57/100) by late Sunday from the ‘neutral’ mood seen a day ago. The message volume was also high.

Chip stocks have defied the ongoing trade uncertainty, riding on the promising demand outlook. Nvidia (NVDA) stock has rallied nearly 30% this year, while its peer, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), is up a steeper 38%. Broadcom’s (AVGO) year-to-date gain is about 26%. Texas Instruments is up only marginally.

Lutnick said at the press conference that the impending release of the probe findings is one of the key reasons why the EU came to “talk to the president to try to resolve all things at one time.”

“I'll let you wait for the two weeks until you get to announce your plan, but we are going to be bringing chip manufacturing back to the United States of America,” he added.

Trump chipped in and said that “A lot of companies are coming in from Taiwan and from other places into the U.S. and they're doing that in order to avoid tariffs,” he said. 

He also said EU President von der Leyen avoided tariffs in a “better,” “more conclusive and “much more profitable” way, adding that the bloc got a lot of benefit from its.

The Trump administration has also begun separate investigations under the same laws into imports of lumber and copper.

Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices are already under scrutiny by the White House over the export of advanced high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said earlier this month that the Trump administration has agreed to allow Nvidia to resume the sales of China-compliant H20 chips in China.

The findings from the probe will likely form the basis for announcing tariffs for chip imports.

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