Qualcomm is a fabless company headquartered in San Diego. All Snapdragon SoCs and wireless modems are fabricated at TSMC in Taiwan or Samsung Foundry in South Korea. Both COOs face only the 10% Section 122 surcharge. Qualcomm dominates the premium Android and IoT wireless chip market.
Qualcomm is headquartered in United States, but most components are manufactured in Taiwan, South Korea. For US customs purposes, the COO is where the component is manufactured — not where the company is based. Declaring United States as COO when parts ship from Taiwan is a customs violation.
Snapdragon SoCs, modems, RFFE modules — primary fab
Some Snapdragon variants (alternate source)
| Country | Sec 122 | Sec 301 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | 10% | — | 10% |
| South Korea | 10% | — | 10% |
* Section 301 rates shown for electronics HTS chapters (8541–8542). Rates vary by product.
| HTS Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 8542.31.0000 | Snapdragon SoCs and application processors |
| 8542.39.0000 | Modems (Snapdragon X-series), RFFE, WiFi chips |
Qualcomm is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, designing all chips at its San Diego headquarters and outsourcing 100% of wafer fabrication to external foundries. The primary manufacturing partner is TSMC in Taiwan, which fabricates the majority of Snapdragon application processors (SM8650 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on 4 nm, SC8380XP Snapdragon X Elite on 4 nm), baseband modems (Snapdragon X70 on 4 nm), WiFi SoCs (QCA6391 on 28 nm), and automotive chips (SA8xxx series). Samsung Foundry in South Korea is an alternate source for some Snapdragon mid-tier and legacy products. Back-end assembly and test is handled by TSMC's outsourced packaging partners in Taiwan and by ASE Group in Taiwan and Malaysia. Taiwan is the primary declared COO for almost all Qualcomm ICs.
Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs (including application processor + integrated modem variants) classify under HTS 8542.31.0000 (processors and controllers). Standalone baseband processors and modem chips classify under 8542.39.0000. RF front-end modules (QAT RFFE, QPA power amplifiers) classify under HTS 8542.39.0000 or 8529.10.9040 depending on integration level. WiFi and Bluetooth combo chips (QCA, WCN families) classify under 8542.39.0000. For Taiwan-origin Qualcomm products: 10% Section 122, no Section 301. For South Korea-origin Qualcomm products (Samsung Foundry-produced variants): 10% Section 122, no Section 301. Qualcomm has no production in China, eliminating the high Section 301 risk for this supplier.
Qualcomm's SA8540P and SA8295P Snapdragon Ride automotive SoCs are TSMC-fabricated (Taiwan COO, 15%) and power digital cockpit and ADAS systems in vehicles from Stellantis, GM, and Renault. For automotive supply chains importing Qualcomm chips, the 10% Section 122 rate applies uniformly. In the IoT segment, the QCS6490 and QCS8550 Vision Intelligence platforms for edge AI, and the QCC305x Bluetooth Audio SoCs for hearables, are also Taiwan-COO. Industrial automation customers designing Qualcomm-powered edge gateways should factor the 10% tariff into device BOM projections for US-imported designs.
The Snapdragon X Elite (SC8380XP) for Windows on ARM laptops is TSMC 4 nm, Taiwan COO, at 10% Section 122. OEMs assembling Snapdragon X Elite-based laptops outside the US and importing finished units face additional tariff exposure on the complete system (HTS 8471.30.0100 for laptops from Taiwan at 10%). The chip itself — as an intermediate component — faces the same 10% if imported separately for domestic assembly. Contract manufacturers (Foxconn, Compal, Quanta) in Taiwan assemble most Snapdragon X Elite platforms; US buyers should verify final product COO, which may be Taiwan or another assembly location depending on where final system integration occurs.
A significant portion of Qualcomm's revenue comes from patent licensing (QTL division) rather than chip sales (QCT division). Patent royalties are not subject to import tariffs. For US companies paying Qualcomm royalties on licensed technology, these are service fees/IP payments outside CBP's jurisdiction. However, companies that purchase Qualcomm chips through distribution must still properly classify and pay applicable Section 122 duties on the physical ICs. The separation between IP licensing and product sales is administratively straightforward but occasionally conflated by procurement teams unfamiliar with trade compliance requirements.
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