Global Memory Chip Crunch Set to Intensify with New US Tariffs

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says major memory chipmakers could either pay 100 per cent tariff or build their products in America Reading Time:3 minutes Why you can trust SCMP Ann Caoin Shanghai Published: 7:00pm, 19 Jan 2026 The shortages and associated price increase in the global memory chip sector could potentially intensify, as the US government threatened to impose hefty new tariffs on some major foreign manufacturers. Speaking at Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony for Micron Technology’s US$100 billion factory in New York, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned that memory chipmakers – without naming any company – had two options: “They can pay 100 per cent tariff, or they can build in America.” He pointed out that tariffs specified under a new trade deal with Taiwan could also apply to semiconductor firms in South Korea under the industrial policy of the administration of US President Donald Trump. Advertisement Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are the world’s top two manufacturers of memory chips, while Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics are among Taiwan’s biggest memory chipmakers. Washington’s latest tariff posture comes as a “super cycle” continues to unfold in the memory chip sector, in which the world’s three major suppliers – Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron – allocate advanced process capacity to high-end dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and high bandwidth memory (HBM) for artificial intelligence workloads, according to Taipei-based research firm TrendForce. That limited the supply for consumer DRAM, which affected the consumer electronics market. What is the HBM-led memory super cycle? Advertisement Select Voice Choose your listening speed Get through articles 2x faster 1.25 x 250 WPM Slow Average Fast 00:0000:00 1.25 x