Among end-user products made of aluminium, cans and bottles are one category affected by the US tariffs; PC cases and graphic cards are another facing challenges due to tariff implementation on Chinese aluminium imports from March 12, 2025.
Image source: Medical Buyer
PC makers were already affected by the initial 20 per cent tariff on Chinese aluminium imports. It was a surprise when they learnt about Trump’s additional 25 per cent tariff, making them pay more on a shipment of PC cases made of aluminium.
In the process of PC construction, aluminium is deemed to be a fundamental material for casing as well as in manufacturing different components of GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). With these newly imposed tariffs, the overall production costs using these materials shall rise, resulting in increased retail prices. This becomes highly concerning for consumers who are looking for a PC at an affordable price, especially within an inflation-sensitive market.
According to the Consumer Technology Association, a trade group representing vendors, there are two principal tariff codes for aluminium-based that Trump imposed on the PC industry: 8473.30.2000 and the other is 8473.30.5100. The tariff code 8473.30.2000 includes PC components ranging from parts & accessories like lock latches, printed circuit assemblies or face plates.
On the other hand, the tariff code 8473.30.5100 includes PC desktops and other casing components like graphic cards. Since all this has a hint of aluminium in manufacturing each part, the manufacturers have to pay an additional 25 per cent tariff.
Moreover, it has become tricky for the manufacturers and vendors to know exactly how much tariff is being deducted from the aluminium tariff. Based on an FAQ by Border Protection and US Customs have shed light that the tariff cost relies on the exact value of aluminium content that is being imported.
This increase in tariff for the aluminium goods had been first surfaced by a Reddit user “Neoescape” where a discussion on additional duties is deemed to be affecting the GPU imports. Neoescape said, “We recently imported several data centre GPUs and got blindsided by a huge bill due to this additional 25 per cent aluminium-related tariff”. However, this post was deleted by the moderator soon after the user wrote this on Reddit.
Currently, the PC manufacturing companies are raising concerns about the additional 25 per cent tariff on 20 per cent tariff on Chinese imports when they see the effects on retail prices. The CEO of an Oregon-based custom gaming PCs and laptop manufacturer, Falcon Northwest said, “We thought that tariff was on raw aluminium and steel, not finished PC cases. But the policy also targets aluminium "derivative" products, like PC hardware.”
On the other hand, a Taiwan-based PC case maker, said: “Many of our cases are constructed mostly of steel and aluminium, so we’ve been nailed with a 25 per cent additional tariff on top of the 20% general tariff for anything coming from China.”
Responses
