Brian_B
FPS Enthusiast
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Now, being April 1, maybe I'm jumping at a joke. But I've seen multiple articles about it today and it seems credible. This is one of the more detailed articles I found:
www.pcmag.com
So, there is a 25% steel and aluminum tariff in effect right now in the US. Apparently, this is impacting PC parts, particularly the aluminum tariff, as it's not just bulk material imports.
There's a specific tariff provision in the Aluminum tariff that states if an item is imported with aluminum pieces, the value of the aluminum components are subject to the tariff. Furthermore, if the price breakdown isn't made available, the tariff is then enacted on the value of the entire item. There's an entire list of items that this applies to, and electronics/computers are on the list.
So... if your GPU has a $3 aluminum heat sink, and the vendor hasn't split that cost out for Customs, you get a 25% tariff slapped on the value of the entire $2,000 GPU.
Apparently, steel doesn't have the same regulation, and isn't hitting parts the same way.

'Absolute Madness': Trump's Aluminum Tariffs Hit GPUs, Desktop Cases
PC vendors say they thought the 25% tariff was on raw aluminum and steel, not finished products. Unfortunately, the policy also targets aluminum 'derivative' products.
So, there is a 25% steel and aluminum tariff in effect right now in the US. Apparently, this is impacting PC parts, particularly the aluminum tariff, as it's not just bulk material imports.
There's a specific tariff provision in the Aluminum tariff that states if an item is imported with aluminum pieces, the value of the aluminum components are subject to the tariff. Furthermore, if the price breakdown isn't made available, the tariff is then enacted on the value of the entire item. There's an entire list of items that this applies to, and electronics/computers are on the list.
So... if your GPU has a $3 aluminum heat sink, and the vendor hasn't split that cost out for Customs, you get a 25% tariff slapped on the value of the entire $2,000 GPU.
Apparently, steel doesn't have the same regulation, and isn't hitting parts the same way.