China's import tariffs on U.S. goods provide an exemption for U.S. semiconductor firms that outsource their manufacturing, according to a post by the China Semiconductor Industry Association, on Friday.

"For all integrated circuits, whether packaged or unpackaged, the declared country of origin for import customs purchases is the location of the wafer fabrication plant," the CSIA posted on WeChat, according to Reuters. 

U.S. firms such as Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), who outsource manufacturing to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), are exempted as China regulators classify these chips as originating from Taiwan, the report said.

"In contrast, chips made by Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), ADI (NASDAQ:ADI), and ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON) - which operate their own U.S.-based fabs - may be classified as U.S. origin and be liable for tariff rates of 84% or higher," the CSIA noted.

As a result, U.S. semiconductor stocks diverged during early Friday trading. Texas Instruments sank 5.5%, Intel declined 2%, Analog Devices inched down 0.5% and ON slipped 1.6%. Conversely, Qualcomm edged up 1% and AMD climbed 1.7%.

On Friday, China boosted its tariffs on U.S. imports to 125% from 84%, and stated it will disregard any additional tariff hikes announced by Washington moving forward. The White House on Thursday clarified that the cumulative tariff on China-produced goods coming into the U.S. will total 145%.

Earlier in the week, Trump issued a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs on more than 75 countries – excluding China.