GPUs & Accelerators Are Going To Get A Lot More Pricey In The US As Trump-Era Tariffs Restored

PC components prices, including GPUs, are going to soar massively in the US as the Biden administration vows to restore Trump-era tariffs on products assembled in China.

The tariffs we are talking about were initially imposed during Donald Trump's tenure when the government wanted to reduce Chinese influence on domestic tech markets. It was said that all hardware imports that are directly from China will face a 25% tariff, which includes GPUs, AI-based accelerators, and multiple other components.

However, during the Biden government, the tariff policy was halted. Its re-imposition was delayed from January 1st, 2024 to May 31, 2024, and since we have approached the latter timeline, it looks like the government has finally taken a harsh stance.

On Wednesday, the US Trade Representative (USTR) issued a notice claiming that the tariff will now be "maintained." Upon inquiry by PCMag, they reiterated their commitment to imposing the new taxation policy. It is disclosed that the tariffs utilize the codes "8473.30.1180 and 8473.30.5100", and under this, multiple components, such as graphics cards and motherboard, will now face additional tariffs, and ultimately, the effects will translate into consumer markets in the form of higher costs, similar to what we saw under the Trump era.

However, it's important to note that the USTR has yet to release an official notice that will "formally" impose the tariffs. Judging by the current political conditions and US-China tensions, the tariff policy doesn't seem far away from implementation. Well, given that we see the imposition of new taxes, one can expect a significant rise in PC component prices, especially mainstream ones like motherboards and GPUs, since several manufacturers, like ZOTAC and MSI, have set their production facilities in China and the import of products from such vendors will become much costlier.

Organizations and industrialists have opposed such a move to a much greater extent, claiming that it would suppress trade activities and make purchasing tariffed items more complex than ever, considering that the policy would massively disrupt the supply chain. It will be interesting to see how the Biden administration proceeds with this move, but by the looks of it, it may be an unfavorable decision.

News Source: PCMag