US secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick recently announced that memory manufacturers not producing in the US could face tariffs of up to 100%. In addition to naming major South Korean players, foreign media reports said that Taiwanese players Nanya Technology and Winbond could also be among the companies potentially affected.
In response, given that Taiwanese memory makers currently have a relatively low proportion of direct sales to the US, estimated at only about 3% to 5%, the potential impact is expected to be limited.
Nanya says no current plans to build in US
Nanya president Pei-ing Lee stated that the company has no immediate plans to build a manufacturing facility in the US but will continue monitoring changes in the proportion of its direct sales to the US.
Although Nanya's share of direct sales to the US have been trending upward in recent years, the overall proportion remains low. Given that tariff policies remain highly fluid, with uncertainties over implementation details, targets, and timing, the company will continue to assess the situation going forward.
Winbond expects limited impact from tariffs
Winbond stated that direct sales to the US accounted for roughly 3% of revenue in 2024. While figures for 2025 have not yet been finalized, the overall share remains low. Moreover, most of the company's major customers already have production lines or investments in the US, meaning the short-term tariff impact is expected to be limited.
Winbond further explained that it will continue to actively evaluate its global deployment strategy to provide comprehensive services to its customers.
Winbond chairman Arthur Chiao previously noted that the company's North American market strategy focuses on the growing need for hardware sales to be integrated with software, an area largely unaffected by tariffs. To better serve the North American software market, the company has established an office in Texas staffed with marketing and sales personnel, and also plans for operations in Canada to support the region.
Taiwanese makers continue to monitor changes
Industry observers believe if the US imposes tariffs on memory manufacturers, Micron Technology would likely be the biggest beneficiary.
Taiwanese memory firms' product shipments and target markets do not directly overlap with other global DRAM players. Moreover, the memory sector is included under the Section 232 duties on semiconductors. Given the current uncertainty over potential tariffs and the relatively limited market size for niche application markets such as DDR3 and DDR4, Taiwanese memory companies are adopting a wait-and-see approach in the short term, closely monitoring evolving industry conditions.
Article edited by Joseph Chen
