Tariff 'Hot Potato'... US Micron Memory Modules and SSD Price Increase

Semiconductor Industry Responds in Advance
Following SanDisk and Samsung Electronics,
Micron Also Joins Price Hikes

Micron logo Reuters Yonhap News

The semiconductor industry has also entered the 'tariff bomb exchange' initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. As semiconductor demand has surged due to the global artificial intelligence (AI) competition, it is generally observed that the increased tariff burden is being passed on to customers rather than absorbed.

On the 8th (local time), U.S. news agency Reuters reported that U.S. semiconductor company Micron recently notified its U.S. customers that it plans to impose additional charges on some products starting from the 9th. The targets include memory modules and solid-state drives (SSD).

In Micron's case, its overseas production facilities are located in China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, making it difficult to avoid the impact of U.S. tariffs. The Trump administration plans to impose reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 49% on all products produced outside the U.S. starting at midnight on the 9th.

Although semiconductors were initially excluded from the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on the 2nd, the atmosphere is that they will also be affected as President Trump has announced plans to impose tariffs soon. On the same day, the White House stated that semiconductors, lumber, copper, pharmaceuticals, and other items targeted for future tariffs are excluded from this round of reciprocal tariffs. However, President Trump dampened industry expectations by saying that semiconductor tariffs will be implemented "very soon."

According to TrendForce, Samsung Electronics also plans to raise prices by 3-5% on DRAM and NAND flash memory semiconductors. SanDisk had already announced a 10% price increase plan on the 1st. Micron had also previously notified customers of similar price increase plans.

In the market, it is observed that semiconductor chip suppliers hold pricing power, making it likely that customers will bear the tariff impact. William Stein, a senior analyst at Truist Securities, said in an investor note last week, "NVIDIA and AI semiconductor stocks will be relatively less affected by tariffs," adding, "This is because AI customers are focusing on competing in AI model development regardless of costs."