DELIVERCHIP（HK）LIMITED— 29 December: This Week’s News

Highlights of the Week

1. US semiconductor tariffs on China extended to 2027

2. US restricts imports of all foreign drones

3. NVIDIA secures major deal on Christmas Eve

US Tariffs on Chinese Semiconductors Postponed until 2027

On 23 December 2025 (local time), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it would impose ‘Section 301’ tariffs on Chinese semiconductor products, but that the implementation date would be postponed until 23 June 2027. A grace period will run from 23 December 2025 to 22 June 2027, during which the tariff rate will be 0 per cent; the future direction of policy remains uncertain.

These tariffs constitute new ‘Section 301’ duties and will be applied on top of the 50 per cent additional tariffs already in place under the Biden administration. The tariffs primarily target upstream semiconductor products exported from China, including silicon materials, diodes, transistors and integrated circuits, but exclude end products containing semiconductors (such as mobile phones and computers), in order to avoid directly affecting consumer prices in the US.

US Restricts Imports of All Foreign Drones

On 22 December, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it would place all non-US-manufactured drones and their key components (such as batteries, flight control systems and sensors) on a ‘controlled list’, prohibiting the approval of new foreign drone models and components for import or sale in the US.

This ban primarily targets new drone models due to be launched in the future, whilst drones already on sale in the US market and those already purchased by consumers remain largely unaffected.

The FCC stated that this move was based on the findings of a White House inter-agency security review, which concluded that foreign-manufactured drones could pose national security risks such as data breaches and illegal surveillance; however, no conclusive public evidence was provided.

NVIDIA Seals Major Deal on Christmas Eve

On 24 December, NVIDIA entered into a US$20 billion technology licensing agreement with AI chip company Groq. This move is viewed as a ‘shell acquisition’ designed to circumvent antitrust scrutiny, aimed at integrating Groq’s low-latency technological advantages in the field of AI inference to strengthen NVIDIA’s monopolistic position in both the training and inference sectors.

The arrangement between NVIDIA and Groq is not a traditional acquisition; however, by paying a substantial fee, NVIDIA has effectively secured Groq’s core team (including founder Jonathan Ross) and a licence for its LPU technology, whilst preserving Groq’s nominal independence. This move has not only circumvented antitrust scrutiny but has also successfully brought a potential competitor under its umbrella.

All news in this article is sourced from the internet.