News U.S. tariffs to heavily impact HDD and SSD manufacturers, increasing costs

[Admin]

U.S. tariffs are reshaping the global storage industry, hitting HDD and SSD makers the hardest due to their complex supply chain.

U.S. tariffs to heavily impact HDD and SSD manufacturers, increasing costs : Read more

 

[bit_user]

Considering the diverse supply chains of all three makers, it is likely that U.S. customs will charge import tariffs based on where the final HDDs are assembled.

Is it really that simple? I was looking at replacing the HDDs in my fileserver and noticed the new drives list country of origin as Thailand. So, if that's what counts, then they should only have a 10% tariff applied for the next 90 days, right?

 

[rambo919]

Is it really that simple? I was looking at replacing the HDDs in my fileserver and noticed the new drives list country of origin as Thailand. So, if that's what counts, then they should only have a 10% tariff applied for the next 90 days, right?

My problem is everyone pretends they can predict the shifts.... when everything is so complex no one knows what long term effect any specific tariff will hold for anything. So every time something happens that slightly goes negatively for someone everyone acts as if it's the end of the world.

I think half the confusion is people think the tariffs themselves are the point rather than what they are being used to nudge for. Even the administration cannot completely predict results which is why the tariffs are constantly shifting as they readjust to new conditions.

This is what de-globalism looks like, messy and risky.

 

[bit_user]

My problem is everyone pretends they can predict the shifts....

I was just asking a procedural question about how the tariffs are assessed. My time horizon is very short. I just need to know whether I can afford to wait 90 days or if I should pull the trigger on these drives ASAP (assuming I'm even going to go through with the upgrade, any time in the next year or so).

 

[rambo919]

I was just asking a procedural question about how the tariffs are assessed. My time horizon is very short. I just need to know whether I can afford to wait 90 days or if I should pull the trigger on these drives ASAP (assuming I'm even going to go through with the upgrade, any time in the next year or so).

Mate... if you live in the US buy everything now or wait 5 years and see what happens. It's not the tariffs that will dictate pricing I think but how fast the internationals nationalize to retain the Murican markets. It looks like prices are only going to go up simple as that..... everything is getting GPU style pricing with tariffs as an excuse at least in the short term.

At the same time as soon as people start doing even more panic buying as what started in December on the low key that will make prices go up too.... so you just gotta evaluate your scenarios and hope you make the right decisions. This looks to me like the start of a complete economic paradigm shift and having gone through one previously I can tell you NO ONE knows how it ends until late in the shift other than the one's that somehow are in a position to game the system and make it work for them, this does not mean they shape the end it means they have options that the rest of us don't so they can keep maneuvering.

Living in South Africa as I do... I sit in a similar position where everything coming from the US will be getting more expensive as companies likely will start withdrawing nationally due to recent political frictions.... and everything coming from China will be even more competitively priced which means that locally China will basically have a monopoly in certain markets. In some for the last 10 years China already have had a de facto monopoly because everything else is massively overpriced in comparison. If you spend money on Apple products down here I think you are just insane or have too much money.... to make my point.

It all depends on what brands you can justify spending money on.... Chinese monitors for example are good enough but their firmware is terrible and never gets updates so in the low end segment they move massive amounts of inventory but in the high end segments there are basically no real choices you get what you get because even if there is stock available it costs an arm and a leg.

 

[Amdlova]

SSD
HDD
MEM

For year they want to push the prices UP 😀 Now they have all they want to get the prices skyhigh

 

[bit_user]

SSD
HDD
MEM

For year they want to push the prices UP 😀 Now they have all they want to get the prices skyhigh

Well, if US prices go up and US demand declines in response, then global prices should drop as that excess inventory tries to find other markets. So, that should be good for you.

However, we've seen news reports that DDR5 prices are expected to go up for unrelated reasons. So, not everything might drop, but still should be cheaper than it otherwise would be.

 

[Misgar]

Well, if US prices go up and US demand declines in response, then global prices should drop as that excess inventory tries to find other markets.

For years, Tom's has published reports of hard disks on special offer at Amazon.com and other US sites, but when I check my local Amazon, the same drive is usually 50% more expensive, sometimes double the price. After allowing for the local 20% sales tax hike, there was still a huge disparity in prices. Perhaps at last things will change and I can update my servers? At least I've got enough LTO tapes to last for some time.

 

[Notton]

I assume the tariff price will go like...
1 product
33% parts from India at 25%
33% parts from Vietnam at 20%
34% parts from Malaysia at 35%
"This is too difficult, let's add them together and divide by 1"
(33+33+34+25+20+35)/1=180%

 

[TechieTwo]

Within 6 months all countries will have made a deal with the U.S. and life as we know it will continue on. Tariffs are a means to an end which is fair trade between all countries without U.S. manufacturers being prevented from selling their products in other countries due to excessive tariffs or Communist control of the country such as in China.

 

[Syntaximus]

I have genuinely tried to apply logic to this and just can't.

Especially when economists and business leaders are completely on the other side of the fence.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-liberation-day-tariffs-reactions-commentators-2025-4

 

[Misgar]

Tariffs are a means to an end which is fair trade between all countries

Quite a few politicians around the world consider the precepts evinced by Adam Smith in his book 'The Wealth of Nations', which describes the advantage of free trade without artificial limits.
https://globaltradeculture.com/en/getting-to-know-adam-smith-father-of-modern-economics/

Within 6 months all countries will have made a deal with the U.S.

Perhaps not all? I'm guessing a few countries don't export much to the USA.

I think I'll let the stock markets and 'gilts' (bonds) determine the outcome. There's not a lot I can do, except hope the price of ThreadRippers comes down if they stop sending them to the USA.