In an interview with The Telegraph, Acer CEO and chairman Jason Chen said that its products made in the PRC will see a price increase of 10 percent as direct results of the new tariffs that the US will levy on electronics. However, Mr Chen is quoted as saying "We think 10 percent probably will be the default price increase because of the import tax." which doesn't mean it will be exactly 10 percent, as it might vary a bit between product segments. That said, what's clear is that Acer and most likely every other company that manufactures hardware in the PRC aren't going to eat any of the tariffs, as the companies appear to be shifting the burden of the new tariffs straight over to the end consumers. Mr Chen also suggested that some companies might be increasing their pricing by more than 10 percent.

The price increase will happen over time, as the new tariffs won't affect products that have left the PRC before the end of February. Alongside Acer, which is the fifth-biggest computer brand in the US market, it's likely that Dell, HP and Lenovo, as well as Apple, are going to hike their prices by the same 10 percent or more. Acer moved the assembly of its desktop computers out of the PRC during Trump's previous term, when a 25 percent tariff was imposed. Now Acer is looking at moving at least some additional parts of its productions out of the PRC and the US is on the table for some of its products. Considering that some 80 percent of all laptops imported to the US are made in the PRC, the Consumer Trade Association is expecting the new tariffs to cost US consumers some US$143 billion, which it assumes will lead to a slump in sales of consumer electronics.

Samsung Electronics will be cutting back on memory chip production, following a worrying drop in its operational profits. Estimates for the first quarter point to a 96% year-on-year decline - the silicon mega-corporation's lowest profit result in 14 years (since the first quarter of 2009). Samsung's operating profits fell to 600 billion won ($456 million) in January to March 2023, from 14 trillion won the previous year. The company has confirmed that a slump in sales is the main cause behind the smaller margins - with a slow global economy and a drop in demand after the chip shortages of 2020 - 2022. Manufacturers of computer and server equipment have reduced expenditure on procurements of RAM and storage solutions.

In a statement released last week, the company confirmed that it was adjusting its manufacturing output in reaction to the drop in demand: "We are lowering the production of memory chips by a meaningful level, especially that of products with supply secured." Industry analysts in South Korean are foreseeing that Samsung's chip business will post heavy losses (into the billions of dollars) during the first three months of 2023. Samsung is expected to publish detailed financial results later this month. The analysts have spotted similar patterns at other South Korea-based memory chip markers - SK Hynix and Micron have recorded heavy financial losses across recent quarters.