Yes, there is a tariff on USB flash drives coming from China.
UPDATE as of April 9, 2025
The trump administration has no impossed a 120% tariff on USB flash drives. This move was after China did a retalitory tariff on US goods going into China at 84%. This is a “who will blink first” type situation. Unfortunately, no one is the winner.
UPDATE as of April 7, 2025
As of April 7th during trumps second term, the administration placed an additional 34% tariff on USB flash drives. Although the president does not have unilateral control over tariffs, it is possible Congress will bring a resolution to the floor and reverse or reduce these tariffs. Currently there are efforts for Congress to overturn or amend the tariffs placed on Canada, although no firm bill or law has been passed.
Three tariffs have been assigned to the USB flash drive category when importing product from China since 2020.
The first tariff was assigned during Trump’s first term in office at a rate of 7.5% percent which started February 2020.
The second tariff was assigned during Trump’s second term in office at a rate of 10% percent which started January 2025.
Because of this new tariff announced on “liberation day” (whatever that means) the total amount of tariffs charged to import flash drives from China into the United States is 51.5% on the cost of the product.
Is this bad? Mostly YES and a little no.
A big yes because any tariff assigned to a product during important is affectively a “tax” on the product. This is true for whether the item is being important from China or any other country.
A little “no” because the United States has a trade deficient in relationship to China. By instituting a tariff on imported goods, in theory, is supposed to encourage US suppliers to manufacture product in the United States.
Many economists argue about tariffs. Mostly that tariffs are harmful to the US economy because they increase costs for consumers and businesses while disrupting global trade. Many U.S. manufacturers rely on imported raw materials and components (such as semiconductors, steel, and electronic parts) to produce finished goods. Higher input costs make American businesses less competitive, potentially leading to job losses and slower economic growth.
Tariffs can also provoke retaliatory measures from trading partners, harming US exporters by making their goods more expensive and less competitive in foreign markets. While tariffs are often intended to encourage domestic manufacturing, they may not be effective in reshoring production. Many industries have deeply integrated global supply chains, making it difficult and expensive to shift production back to the US.
For example, there are no major players, such as Kingston, Western Digital, Nexcopy or Micron who manufacture USB flash drive memory inside the United States. These manufacturers use contract factories in China to produce the goods.
Even if these companies had manufacturing capabilities in the United States the NAND memory required to make the product would need to be imported from China. Since the NAND memory makes up 90% of the USB flash drive product cost, the advantage to move manufacturing to the US is not profitable. It is less expensive to have end-users foot the tariff bill, than to have manufacturers change their supply chain manufacturing strategy.
Tariffs are an old strategy for international business negotiations. The president who implemented these tariffs does not hold the “art of a deal” but rather, simple and elementary visions for how to negotiate trade deals. Tariffs have been used for centuries as a tool to protect domestic industries, generate government revenue, and influence trade relationships. The theory is, imposing tariffs to shield local businesses from foreign competition and ensure domestic industries could develop without being undercut by cheaper imports is no longer a working theory.
While tariffs remain a common negotiation tool, many economists argue that free trade agreements and international cooperation (such as those under the World Trade Organization) are more effective at fostering long-term economic growth. Instead of imposing tariffs, modern trade deals often focus on reducing barriers, increasing market access, and enforcing fair competition rules, which can lead to more sustainable and mutually beneficial trade relationships.
The above paragraph is a major short coming of the current administration (Trump 2025) and the inability to think at these higher levels and negotiate more detailed agreements will ultimately cost the American consumer hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
What can you do?
There is not much which can be done to avoid or circumvent the tariff imposed. For example, there is no manufacturer inside the United States producing USB drives. The cost to ship product from China to say Taiwan or Mexico and then ship into the US is more expensive than paying the tariff. Looking forward, the “option” any American has is understanding what a tariff is and how that impacts the bottom line for a company or business. Most importantly, to elect officials who are more in-line with consumer protection rather than exercising retaliatory political moves at the expense of American people.
A couple notes:
USB Flash Drive sales are estimated to be 5.47 Billion dollars for 2024. Let’s say the United States purchased only 1% of that amount, the $800 limit on single orders would still not allow manufacturers to “work the system” and avoid paying tariffs by making hundreds of mini shipping orders – there is too much volume coming into the United States to justify making thousands of small orders under $800. Plus, US Customs would certainly catch on to a scheme like that.
