U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 2nd (local time) the start of tariffs on certain semiconductor products, including NAND flash-based solid-state drives (SSDs), following the mutual tariff enactment. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are reportedly monitoring market conditions while maintaining their current pricing policy.
The product lines affected by Trump's tariffs primarily include enterprise SSDs and memory modules, with most of the tariff burden falling on local IT companies and distributors in the U.S. Local customers who had contracts with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix prior to the Trump administration are bound by the contract terms to bear the cost of tariff increases. However, U.S. IT companies may request price reductions from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix due to the cost burden caused by the tariff increases.
According to industry sources on the 9th, while Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have some SSD and memory module products affected by Trump's tariffs, they have no plans to change their pricing policy for the time being. As a result, the burden of tariff increases is expected to be naturally passed on to local customers and distributors in North America.
A source familiar with Samsung Electronics noted, “Who bears the tariff varies by contract with customers,” adding, “However, since importers usually bear the tariff, it is likely that prices will be raised by U.S. customers.” An official from SK hynix also stated that “there are currently no changes to the pricing policy” and that “we will prepare a response plan according to the semiconductor mutual tariff announcement that will come into effect later.”
In contrast, U.S. Micron is actively adjusting its product prices in response to the tariff increases. According to Reuters, Micron announced on the 8th (local time) that it would impose additional charges on some products, passing the increased costs due to tariffs onto customers.
Micron has factories in China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, and imports products produced in its Asian factories into the U.S. While semiconductors were excluded from the mutual tariff targets announced on the 2nd, memory modules and SSDs are still subject to tariffs like other products.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix currently do not face significant impacts from the tariff increases, but industry analysts predict that if the situation continues, pressure to reduce supply prices will increase. This is due to the rising costs of purchasing SSDs needed for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, which may lead to a contraction in North American memory demand. Major customers in North America are likely to request price reductions from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to lessen their investment burdens.
However, there are also observations that Trump's tariff policy, which dampens AI investment enthusiasm in the U.S., may take a somewhat conservative approach in the semiconductor sector. An industry source stated, “Currently, the only memory semiconductor factory in the U.S. is the small fab owned by Micron, which primarily produces DRAM and accounts for a minimal share of total production,” adding, “In reality, the U.S. relies entirely on imports for its memory semiconductors, meaning tariff barriers could be a self-defeating move that triggers IT inflation.”
In reality, the additional charges on SSDs have a significant impact not only on the enterprise SSD market but also on general consumer markets. This suggests that inflation across IT devices like PCs, laptops, and standalone SSDs is unavoidable.
Meanwhile, Reuters suggested that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix might adopt a stance similar to Micron, urging U.S. customers to resolve the tariffs themselves. An executive from a NAND module manufacturer in Asia stated, “If we don’t want to bear the taxes, we cannot ship the products,” adding, “With such tax rates, no company can easily say, ‘I will cover it.’”