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PC builders in the US won't have to worry about a 25% tariff on graphics cards from China for at least another year.
The Trump administration will delay the implementation of "Section 301" tariffs on Chinese-assembled GPUs, motherboards, and PC cases until at least Nov. 10, 2026. The duties were supposed to take effect over the weekend, but on Nov. 1, the White House signaled it would delay Section 301 tariffs for another year after reaching a trade deal with Beijing. The Office for the US Trade Representative (USTR) then quietly confirmed the pause ahead of Thanksgiving.
Section 301 tariffs, which originated during the first Trump presidency, were expected to return this year. However, in a surprising move, the White House twice delayed reviving them, possibly because Trump was already implementing or threatening to enact other tariffs on China and numerous other countries, including Vietnam and Cambodia.
Industry trade groups had also been lobbying the Trump administration to pause Section 301 tariffs. “While companies continue to diversify supply chains, global capacity for critical inputs and specialized components is still heavily concentrated in China,” the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) said in an October letter to the USTR. “Where third-country options exist, firms often face higher costs, inconsistent supply, or longer lead times, making rapid substitution impractical.
The CTA also warned that many manufacturers were “returning to China,” due to Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs on numerous countries. “Instead of shifting supply chains out of China, many have decided that the risk of sourcing from other markets amid higher tariffs and widespread and increasing tariff uncertainty is just too great,” according to the group, which represents top technology companies including Apple, Nvidia, and Samsung.
We'll be curious to see how the USTR approaches the tariffs next year and whether there will be another delay. That said, it's possible Trump could target GPUs through another set of chip-focused tariffs, Section 232, although that's also facing a delay to avoid angering Beijing.
In the meantime, the decision to keep the Section 301 tariffs on the back burner comes as pricing for many PC graphics cards has somewhat normalized. But there’s concern it might not last. The demand for AI data centers has been eating into memory production, causing costs for RAM, especially DDR5, to skyrocket to over 200% in recent months. As a result, a pack of 64GB DDR5 can now cost over $500. The shortage also risks impacting video memory production, which could lead to price increases for GPUs next year.