Amid a DRAM shortage and growing demand from the AI industry, the administration of US President Donald Trump is considering imposing 100 percent tariffs on memory chips manufactured outside the country.
This was stated by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick during the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Micron plant in New York. According to him, companies that do not establish memory production in the United States may face maximum tariffs.
Although specific companies were not named in the statement, key market players could be subject to potential duties. For example, Samsung has already announced investments in semiconductor infrastructure in the United States, including front-end and back-end processes, but the construction of a full-fledged memory factory is not yet planned. SK hynix is investing about $4 billion in a project in West Lafayette, Indiana, but it focuses on packaging and research, not mass DRAM production.
Currently, Micron remains the only major company that actually manufactures — or plans to manufacture — DRAM in the United States.
Taiwanese companies Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics, which play a significant role in the global DRAM supply chain, are also under threat.