As the next round of chip tariffs is about to be announced, Trump wants to stabilize AI investments or exempt American tech giants.

Media sources reported that the United States federal government, under the leadership of President Trump, plans to exempt major US tech giants such as Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US), Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US), and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) from the upcoming heavy-duty foreign chip tariff policy. This is mainly because these large tech companies are constructing AI data centers on a massive scale, and this active investment process in AI and construction is crucial for the US economy. Insiders emphasize that the special exemption policy related to chip tariffs will be provided by the US Department of Commerce after a trade investigation, and it is closely related to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US), which has invested over a billion dollars in manufacturing high-performance AI chips and other advanced chips with a process of 3nm or less in the United States. However, insiders stress that this large-scale tariff exemption plan is still being adjusted and has not yet received President Trump's signature approval. In a performance conference call in January, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR emphasized that the world's largest chip manufacturing company is actively investing up to $165 billion and plans to build multiple large chip manufacturing plants in Arizona, USA. One factory has already achieved 5nm chip production capacity in the US. How important is the construction process of AI data centers for the US economy? Undoubtedly, the construction of AI data centers has evolved rapidly from technical investments to becoming an important driver of the macroeconomy. The latest estimates from JPMorgan show that AI data center capital-related expenditures may contribute approximately 0.1-0.2 percentage points to US GDP growth in 2025-2026. This mainly comes from major cloud computing service providers like Microsoft Corporation, Alphabet Inc. Class C, and Amazon.com, Inc., investing in large AI data center construction projects like "Stargate" and similar projects, along with supporting infrastructure. This large-scale investment not only drives demand in various industries such as construction, equipment, and power supply but also significantly alleviates the pressure on US economic growth due to ongoing weakness in the labor market. Such a policy arrangement is seen as being linked to commitments from key manufacturing companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR to expand production investments in the US to ensure the stability of the AI data center's computing power supply chain and promote localized chip manufacturing. In this context, imposing high tariffs on critical chips, which are crucial for data center construction, could significantly increase the cost of AI data center construction, delay project progress, or even undermine investor confidence, ultimately dragging down economic growth in the short term - research has shown that tariffs can reduce economic growth and may lead to long-term capacity and capital shortages. Therefore, the latest exemption rumors regarding the chip tariffs show that the Trump administration is actually trying to maintain the pace of investment in ultra-large-scale AI computing infrastructure to prevent market expectations from reversing, reflecting the federal government's view of AI investment as a "GDP growth engine," rather than simply an industrial policy privilege. If the stock prices of US tech giants plummet due to tariffs, the Trump administration cannot afford it. Furthermore, broader research and market analysis show that AI and its related technology investments have become important variables driving US economic growth. For example, some Wall Street analysts have pointed out that AI-related investments have contributed close to 1% to US GDP growth in 2024-25, supporting consumption and investment activities by significantly increasing the valuation of tech stocks and generating significant wealth effects, which is particularly important given the weakening of other traditional growth drivers. From a stock price perspective, if the stock prices of the heavily weighted "Magnificent Seven" (the seven major tech giants) decline significantly due to chip tariff policies, it could be a spark for a financial crisis-level event for the US stock market and economy. Among the wide range of tech industries in the US stock market, the so-called "Magnificent Seven" (Mag 7), which hold high weights in the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100 index, have the greatest impact on the profitability of the tech sector. According to analysts' consensus forecasts compiled by institutions, the combined profit growth rate of the "Magnificent Seven" in 2026 is expected to be around 24%, compared to an estimated profit growth rate of approximately 12.5% for the remaining 493 companies in the S&P 500. In other words, the profit growth rate of the "Magnificent Seven" is almost twice as high as that of the rest of the companies in the US stock market. Therefore, from the perspective of profit expectations and market weight structure, the tech industry (especially the seven major tech leaders) remains the "core force" driving the bull market performance of the US stock market in 2026, and is far higher than the overall profit expectations of the remaining 493 component companies in the index, intensifying their influence on the index trend. Although sector rotation is becoming more evident, from the perspective of profit expectations, this rotation may not last long. The unprecedented construction process of AI computing infrastructure and the AI investment theme of the "Magnificent Seven" in 2026 will continue to be the strongest theme in the stock market throughout the year, just as in 2024 and 2025. The so-called "Magnificent Seven" (Mag 7), which hold a high weight of about 35% in the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100 index, include: Apple Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Alphabet Inc. Class C, Tesla, Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, Amazon.com, Inc., and Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms. They are the core driving forces behind the record highs of the S&P 500 index and are considered by top Wall Street investment firms as the most capable combination of bringing significant returns to investors in the largest technological revolution era since the Internet age.