The largest US memory manufacturer announced a price hike for SSD and RAM due to new duties

Late last month, Micron Technology said that memory prices would rise across the market this year and next, due to unpredictable growth in demand from the same AI sector. In more private communications with its U.S. customers, it was forced to add shortly afterward that higher tariffs would also push prices higher.

Image source: Micron Technology

At least, according to Reuters, the letters were sent to Micron customers in the United States, informing them of a forced price increase on memory modules and solid-state drives of this brand purchased in the United States starting this week. The scale of the price increase is not discussed, but Micron explains to customers that memory modules and solid-state drives imported into the country are not exempt from the new customs duties, unlike semiconductor components.

Although Micron Technology has memory chip factories in the U.S. and plans to build more, it imports certain products from China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. In late March, the company’s management made it clear that it would not hesitate to pass on the increased costs of the tariffs to consumers’ wallets. As one NAND flash memory storage manufacturer in Asia explained to Reuters, no memory manufacturer would be prepared to “take the full brunt” of the new tariffs announced by the U.S. government.

South Korean media outlets also note that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will likely take similar measures when supplying their products to the United States. Moreover, they still produce most of their memory in China, which will suffer the most from the “Trump tariffs.” In general, the memory manufacturing industry is structured in such a way that chip packaging and module production are concentrated in Asian countries, which will be most affected by the new US customs tariffs.