Trump's new tariffs hit AI and Nvidia hard: even "exceptions" don't save them. Let's figure it out
American technology companies have received a «tariff cushion» from the Trump administration — but it seems to be doing more harm than good, writes The TechCrunch.
American technology companies have received a «tariff cushion» from the Trump administration — but it seems to be doing more harm than good, writes The TechCrunch.
The White House announced new import tariffs that supposedly do not affect semiconductors. But in practice, the exemption applies only to a limited range of HTS codes. The bulk of GPUs, servers, and AI equipment are subject to tariffs of up to 40%.
«A large portion of chips are already coming to the U.S. in the form of products that are not exempt from tariffs — such as GPUs and servers for training AI models,» explains Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Bernstein Research.
What does this mean for the US technology market?
1. Nvidia in the turbulence zone Despite an exemption for certain high-end GPUs, most Nvidia solutions are subject to duty. In particular, DGX servers used to train language models are classified as 8471.50 — not on the list of exemptions.
Since the beginning of 2025, Nvidia shares have already lost a third of their value.
«AI hardware, especially high-end GPUs from Nvidia, will become more expensive. This could slow down the development of AI infrastructure in the US,» says Nancy Wei of Eurasia Group.
2. AI companies are slowing down scaling Under attack: data centers, cloud solutions, quantum computing, and military-grade chips.
«The chip industry depends not only on its own products, but also on imports in general. It is very sensitive to the general economic situation,» explains Rasgon.
3. Returning production to the US is in question Trump wants reshoring, but key chip equipment — like lithography machines — also gets hit with tariffs:
Netherlands: +20%
Japan: +24% This is holding back the growth of domestic production.
«$100 billion will buy you significantly less in the coming years than it did before,» says Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
4. Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand — new victims of tariffs
Even US allies have been hit. Only 10% of Taiwan’s exports to the US fall under the «chip exemption.» The rest are servers, which are subject to a 32% tariff.
«After that, AI server prices could skyrocket,» predicts Jason Hsu, an expert at the Hudson Institute.
Southeast Asia will also be hit hard:
Vietnam: +46%
Thailand: +36%
«I don’t see a soft landing here. This could cause the global supply chain to explode,» Hsu warns.
