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Monday 23 February 2026
IEEPA tariff rollback offers relief, but Trump's 15% tariff plan clouds outlook

The US government will halt the collection of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) starting February 24, 2026, following a February 20 executive order titled "Ending Certain Tariff Actions." While the rollback removes a major cost burden for importers, President Donald Trump's plan to impose a broad 15% tariff on most global imports threatens to offset much of the relief, especially for the technology sector.

Monday 23 February 2026
US tariff ruling puts Taiwan chips in the crosshairs
The US Supreme Court ruling invalidating broad reciprocal tariffs has shifted President Donald Trump's trade focus toward Taiwan and the semiconductor sector, a key supplier to the US AI industry.
Monday 23 February 2026
Can Polymatech anchor India's compound semiconductor supply chain?
Looking beyond advanced logic nodes, compound semiconductors have emerged as a strategic priority for applications ranging from power electronics and RF to optoelectronics.
Monday 23 February 2026
Samsung Foundry rebounds with utilization above 80% in 1Q26
Samsung Electronics' foundry utilization exceeded 80% in the first quarter of 2026, its highest level in over a year, increasing the probability of a quarterly profit turnaround this year.
Monday 23 February 2026
AMD replicates Nvidia's playbook to backstop US$300 million Crusoe loan
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is making a bold pivot by guaranteeing a US$300 million loan for cloud startup Crusoe, signaling a shift from pure hardware competition to financial engineering in the AI chip market. The loan, arranged by Goldman Sachs, will allow Crusoe to purchase AMD AI accelerators — including the Instinct MI450 series — for installation in a new Ohio data center being built by Canadian firm 5C, backed by Brookfield.
Monday 23 February 2026
Samsung brings forward P5 cleanroom timeline under 'Shell First' strategy
Samsung Electronics has accelerated cleanroom construction at its Pyeongtaek Fab 5 (P5), pushing forward capacity expansion for high-bandwidth memory and advanced-node semiconductor production under its "Shell First" strategy.
Monday 23 February 2026
Weekly news roundup: memory impacts, AI infrastructure, and policy uncertainty
Below are the most-read DIGITIMES stories from the week of February 16-22, 2026.
Sunday 22 February 2026
Analysis: Trump's curtailed tariff powers strengthen Beijing's leverage and rattle Asian allies
In a dramatic escalation of global trade tensions, President Donald Trump abruptly raised his newly announced global tariff to 15% on Saturday, effective immediately.
Sunday 22 February 2026
India advances OSAT project as Tata wafer fab faces timeline uncertainty
India's semiconductor drive is advancing unevenly, with quicker momentum in packaging and testing but mounting timeline risks in wafer fabrication, underscoring both progress and structural gaps as New Delhi seeks a larger role in global chip supply chains.
Saturday 21 February 2026
PM Modi lays foundation stone for HCL-Foxconn semiconductor plant in Uttar Pradesh

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, virtually laid the foundation stone for a new semiconductor facility in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, on February 21, 2026.

Saturday 21 February 2026
Tech sector braces for Trump's 10% tariff reset

Global technology supply chains are facing renewed uncertainty after US President Donald Trump announced a temporary 10% tariff on most imports, days after the Supreme Court of struck down his earlier tariff framework.

Saturday 21 February 2026
Commentary: Samsung to reclaim the world's no.1 semiconductor position in 2026

Samsung Electronics and Intel have alternated for years as the world's largest semiconductor company. From 2011 to 2023, Samsung and Intel each claimed the top spot four and nine times, respectively. However, following the rise of generative AI, the world's largest semiconductor company in 2024 and 2025 shifted to Nvidia.

Saturday 21 February 2026
AI supply chain tracker: Rack infrastructure joins the AI buildout
January 2026 revenue data show that Taiwan's AI server supply chain expansion is reaching beyond chipmakers and server assemblers into rack-level infrastructure, as mechanical, thermal, and optical component suppliers posted strong annual gains.
Saturday 21 February 2026
Trump defies Supreme Court with new 10% global tariff following legal defeat

In a whirlwind 24-hour period of legal setbacks and executive retaliation, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing a 10% global tariff on all foreign goods. The move, announced Friday evening via social media, serves as a rapid-response maneuver to salvage his trade agenda after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his previous "reciprocal" tariff regime earlier that day.

Friday 20 February 2026
India joins US-led Pax Silica, deepening tech and semiconductor alignment
On February 19, India formally joined the US-led Pax Silica coalition at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, signalling closer strategic cooperation with Washington on semiconductors, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence supply chains.
Friday 20 February 2026
Qualcomm becomes anchor ATMP customer at Tata Electronics' Assam facility
On February 19, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Tata Electronics announced a collaboration under which Tata Electronics will manufacture Qualcomm Automotive Modules in India, marking a step toward localising advanced automotive electronics production.
Friday 20 February 2026
Tata's Gujarat wafer fab reportedly faces fresh delay, clouding India's chipmaking ambitions
India's most ambitious semiconductor project, a Tata Group-led wafer fabrication plant in Gujarat, is reportedly facing further delays, raising questions about the pace of the country's push to build a domestic chip industry.
Friday 20 February 2026
AI server supply chain tracker: AI infrastructure arms race boosts Taiwanese AI chip and server suppliers
The AI infrastructure boom has entered a full-scale arms race in 2026, with US cloud giants dramatically ramping up capex. Taiwanese chipmakers and server suppliers are emerging as key beneficiaries as orders for advanced silicon and AI systems surge.
Thursday 19 February 2026
MediaTek CEO at ISSCC: solo chip era is over, system-level efficiency is the next frontier
The rules of winning in AI are changing, and one of the semiconductor industry's most prominent executives is calling time on the old playbook.
Thursday 19 February 2026
DIGITIMES Insight: TSMC's swelling facilities budget signals a global capacity race
When chipmakers spend big, it is usually the machines that cost the most. Process equipment — the lithography tools, deposition systems, and etch chambers that define the bleeding edge of semiconductor manufacturing — has historically commanded the largest share of TSMC's capital budget. Facilities and civil construction matter, but they have rarely led the bill. That conventional wisdom is now being tested.
Thursday 19 February 2026
DIGITIMES Insight: US tariff-credit design could pressure Korean memory makers to localize production
A proposed US tariff and duty-exemption framework could force Korean memory suppliers to accelerate US fab investments or risk losing AI server market share, according to DIGITIMES analyst Luke Lin, speaking on a DIGITIMES podcast.
Thursday 19 February 2026
Singapore holds No. 4 financial hub ranking as assets flow in

Singapore maintained its position as the world's fourth-ranked financial center in the 2025 Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), reflecting a strategy centered on capital security, rule of law stability, and long-term industrial positioning.

Wednesday 18 February 2026
Analysis: 2nm shifts chipmaking from scaling to chiplet integration

The semiconductor industry is shifting at 2nm from transistor scaling to chiplet-based architectures and advanced packaging. Performance gains are increasingly driven by heterogeneous integration rather than monolithic shrink, reshaping how power, performance, area, and cost are optimized.

Wednesday 18 February 2026
DIGITIMES Insight: TSMC's Kumamoto 3nm upgrade targets automotive, AI demand rather than Rapidus
TSMC's decision to upgrade its second Kumamoto fab to 3nm reflects long-term customer demand and supply chain strategy rather than competitive pressure from Rapidus, according to Luke Lin, speaking on a DIGITIMES podcast.
Wednesday 18 February 2026
Nexperia lands US$60 million loan to boost chip output during Dutch governance probe

Invest International will provide Nexperia with a US$60 million loan to expand chip production and upgrade manufacturing lines across its global facilities, the Dutch state-backed lender said on February 16.