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Following the notice that a price hike is on the way, U.S. memory giant Micron plans to introduce a new surcharge for U.S. customers starting April 9 to offset costs from Trump’s latest tariffs, as per Reuters.
Micron told customers in an email that while some of its products are exempt from tariffs under Washington’s “semiconductors” definition, memory modules and SSDs are not, according to Reuters. Most of Micron’s production is based across Asia, including China, Taiwan, and Japan, the report adds.
Would Samsung and SK hynix Follow Suit?
Notably, South Korean media are concerned about Samsung and SK hynix, which are under similar scenario. A report from iNews24 suggests that they are expected to implement similar measures.
As highlighted by etnews, Micron has passed the tariff burden to customers, in addition to a recent 10% price hike on memory products. While Samsung and SK hynix also produce DRAM and SSDs in Asian countries like China and South Korea, they are heavily impacted as well, as per etnews.
Meanwhile, an executive from an Asian NAND module maker, cited by Reuters, said they are following Micron’s lead by telling U.S. customers to manage the new tariffs themselves. “If they won’t cover the taxes, we simply won’t ship,” the executive reportedly stated.
Rising Challenges Ahead
According to Seoul Economy News, the main issue is that while semiconductors were exempted from tariffs, it was unclear whether this applied only to chip units or also to finished products, leading to confusion across the industry.
The report further notes that memory semiconductors are rarely traded as individual chips. Instead, most memory products are sold as modules mounted on a substrate (PCB), meaning this latest wave of tariffs will likely impact nearly all memory semiconductors, as per the report.
An industry expert cited by Seoul Economy News highlights that the packaging process for memory modules relies heavily on outsourced companies in Southeast Asia and other regions due to labor costs and efficiency.
Especially for the semiconductor industry, already hit by rising raw material costs, weak demand, and fierce competition, Trump’s move is seen as a setback on top of an already bad situation.
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(Photo credit: Micron)
