NVIDIA and AMD are reportedly shipping out their next-gen GPUs to US warehouses in China under "desperate" measures to avoid the wave of tariffs coming with the Trump administration.
NVIDIA & AMD Are Now Forcing AIB Partners To Ship Out Next-Gen GPUs Way Earlier Than Expected, Combating Up To 40% Tariffs
Well, it looks like businesses have adopted urgent measures to prevent their supply chains from being influenced by Trump's harsh tariff policy. Ctee now reports that GPU manufacturers like AMD and NVIDIA are already pursuing shipping their graphics cards to mainstream US markets before January 20 in an attempt to avoid the tariff, which could bump up prices massively. AIB partners are now said to have ramped up production of next-gen GPUs massively, which is an unusual trend, primarily since supply is confined at the start.
Given that AMD and NVIDIA have strict measures planned to avoid supply chain "information" leakage, both firms are rumored to have initiated next-gen GPU production at the start of December to ensure that the units arrive at expected US facilities before the presidential inauguration, which is set to occur on January 20. This is yet another move to squeeze in more profits since the tariffs are imminent to increase consumer prices, but manufacturers will get in more profits for the initial GPU stock.
For those unaware, Trump's tariff proposal includes a 10% tariff on imports from other than China while a 60% tariff on imports from China, and given that the majority of consumer gaming GPUs are sourced from China, it is expected that the prices could soar by up to 40%, and even more, given that how manufacturers decided to reflect the tariff in consumer prices. Interestingly, Microsoft, Dell, and HP have too adopted similar measures, speeding up the production process to combat Trump's policies.
While we are unaware of NVIDIA and AMD's next-gen GPU MSRPs, a reasonable estimate would likely be $1,799 for the GeForce RTX 5090. So, factoring in a 40% tariff, NVIDIA's flagship GPU can cost around $2,500. The tariff would shake up the consumer GPU markets in terms of pricing, and will also fuel in demand for second-hand GPUs as well.
Yet again, since the policy is yet to be "officially" implemented, we cannot be certain about the post-tariff prices, but they will surely see a noticeable increase.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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