Once Again, US Delays Restoring Trump-Era Tariffs on Graphics Cards

GPU buyers won’t have to worry about US tariffs impacting graphics cards for at least another five months. The Office of US Trade Representative (USTR) will delay re-imposing the Trump-era tariffs until May 31 to gather more feedback from the industry before making a final decision. 

The tariffs originally added a 25% duty on affected Chinese manufactured goods, including graphics cards, motherboards, and power supplies. But in 2022, the Biden administration temporarily lifted the tariffs, citing the potential economic harm they were causing to businesses and supply chains amid efforts to fight inflation.  

The exclusions from the Biden administration were only supposed to last until December 2022. But the USTR later delayed re-imposing the Trump-era tariffs to September 2023 and then December, before making another five-month postponement. 

Although the decision is good news for consumers, one trade industry group is annoyed that the USTR announced the short-term postponement on Dec. 26—a mere five days away from the original Dec. 31 deadline when the Trump-era tariffs were slated to go back into effect. 

“We are frustrated that USTR announced this short-term extension with little notice, making it difficult for businesses to plan,” Americans for Free Trade (AFT) said in a statement. 

The AFT is among the trade groups lobbying the White House to permanently scrap the Trump-era tariffs, which can saddle both businesses and consumers with cost increases. In response, USTR says it's already gathering feedback from stakeholders to determine next steps.

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It's unclear why USTR needs this feedback. In May 2022, the agency kicked off a "four-year review" of the Trump-era tariffs, but it has yet to release the results.

"We are disappointed that USTR continues to drag out this review despite receiving hundreds of comments from businesses large and small who have been negatively impacted by the tariffs," the AFT says.