What just happened? Memory chipmaker Micron Technology has announced it will impose a surcharge on certain products starting Wednesday. According to four sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters, the decision comes in response to new tariffs introduced by President Trump. While semiconductors – core components of Micron’s portfolio – were exempt from the tariffs announced last week, memory modules and solid-state drives were not.
In a letter to its US clients, Micron explained that the surcharge is necessary under the new trade conditions. Executives had already warned customers during a March 21 post-earnings call that the company planned to pass tariff-related costs onto affected buyers. The timing of this surcharge closely follows a separate price adjustment announced in late March, which Micron attributed to an unexpected surge in product demand.
The semiconductor industry has been contending with rising raw material costs and heightened competition, prompting companies like Micron to shift expenses downstream rather than absorb them. Asian manufacturers of NAND modules have reportedly adopted similar strategies, informing US clients that they will need to manage tariff-related expenses on their own.
“If they don’t want to bear the taxes, we cannot ship the products. We cannot be held accountable for the decisions made by your government,” an unnamed executive with an Asian NAND manufacturer told Reuters “With this kind of tax rate, no company can generously say, ‘I’ll take on the burden.'”
Manufacturers of other technology products, such as PCs, also plan to raise prices. Acer, for example, has announced a 10 percent price increase on US-bound products to offset higher tariff costs.
Micron’s extensive manufacturing footprint in Asia, which includes facilities in China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, places the company squarely at the center of ongoing tariff pressures. These sites are integral to its global supply chain but are directly affected by new trade policies. In addition to producing critical components like NAND flash memory and SSDs, the facilities serve as strategic hubs for navigating regulatory challenges and meeting global demand.
Micron’s Asian operations also allow it to respond flexibly to market shifts, such as surging demand fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence. For instance, its Malaysian facilities have ramped up production to support AI-related infrastructure. The company has invested heavily in the region to bolster supply chain resilience and expand production capacity. Recent initiatives include a state-of-the-art packaging facility in Singapore and a $1 billion chip packaging plant in India.
The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Asian countries vary widely. China is the most heavily targeted, facing a combined effective tariff rate of 104 percent, including a 34 percent reciprocal tariff and additional penalties.
