AisanFin -- The China Semiconductor Industry Association on Friday issued an urgent notice regarding the "origin" certification rules for semiconductor products, leading to the suspension of price quotes by U.S. chip companies for new orders destined for China.

According to the new regulation, the origin of "integrated circuits" will be determined based on the four-digit tariff code, with the wafer fabrication location being recognized as the place of origin. This means that some semiconductor products produced in the U.S. may face price increases due to tariff hikes on U.S. goods.

"In the past, origin certification was often based on product labels, and the criteria weren't so strict. Also, since most of the packaging and testing capacity is in Southeast Asia, the industry originally believed that the tariff impact wouldn't be significant," said one distributor. "However, if the origin is defined by the wafer fabrication location, this means chips made at U.S. fabs will be subject to high tariffs. For example, companies like Texas Instruments (TI) and Intel will face higher tariffs. In the short term, demand for related analog chips will shift to domestic suppliers."

"Many U.S.-based chip companies have suspended price quotes for new orders, and everyone is currently evaluating the impact," another chip distributor commented.