Micron’s overseas manufacturing sites are largely based in Asia, including mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore
US memory chipmaker Micron Technology told US customers it planned to impose a surcharge on some products from Wednesday to account for US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, four sources familiar with the matter said.
Micron’s overseas manufacturing sites are largely based in Asia, including mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
The company notified its customers in a letter that while Trump’s announcement last week exempted semiconductors, which account for part of Micron’s portfolio, the tariffs applied to memory modules and solid-state drives, the sources said.
Those products, used to store data in various products from cars to laptops and data-centre servers, would now be subject to a surcharge, they said.
Micron did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US President Donald Trump holds a tariffs poster at the White House. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire/dpa/TNS
The notice to customers echoes comments the company made on March 21 on a post-earnings call, when its executives said it intended to pass along costs to customers in areas where tariffs had an impact.
It also comes shortly after Micron in late March notified customers of price rises due to an increase in “un-forecasted demand” for its products.
Trump’s announcement last week jolted economies around the world, triggering retaliatory levies from China and sparking fears of a global trade war and recession.
It has also forced companies globally to assess whether they should absorb the tariffs or shift them on to customers.
US customs agents began collecting Trump’s unilateral 10 per cent tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday. Higher “reciprocal” tariff rates of 11 per cent to 50 per cent on individual countries are due to take effect on Wednesday at 12.01am Eastern Daylight Time.
An executive at an Asian NAND module manufacturer said they were taking a similar approach to Micron to tell US customers they had to figure out the tariffs themselves.
“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,” the person said, declining to be named as they were not permitted to speak to the media.
“With this kind of tax rate, no company can generously say, ‘I’ll take on the burden’.”
US memory chipmaker Micron to impose tariff surcharge on products
Micron’s overseas manufacturing sites are largely based in Asia, including mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
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