Acer has just outpaced its rivals in announcing a major move: it’s become the first among leading laptop manufacturers to reveal that it’s adjusting prices in response to the tariffs instigated by U.S. President Donald Trump on goods exported from China. While Acer is the first to make this call, I anticipate others will soon follow suit.
The Taiwan-based giant, now under the influence of these new tariffs, plans to bump up the prices of its laptops by 10%. This aligns with the 10% tariff on Chinese imports that President Trump enacted on February 3, 2025.
According to The Telegraph, Acer’s CEO and Chairman, Jason Chen, has shared that this price uptick won’t hit immediately. Laptops shipped out of China before February are exempt for now, meaning the increase won’t take effect for a few weeks.
Chen elaborated in The Telegraph, saying: “Adjusting the end-user price to mirror the tariff is necessary. We believe a 10% hike will be the norm due to this import tax. It’s quite straightforward.”
Chen also warned that some companies might seize this moment as an opportunity to inflate prices beyond the 10% threshold to counteract the tariffs. If that happens, it won’t just be Acer shoppers feeling the pinch. Given that the bulk of Windows laptops—brands like Dell, HP, ASUS, and Lenovo—are manufactured in China, a wider impact seems inevitable.
Could there be a solution to these tariffs and the rising cost of laptops?
Most laptops worldwide are products of Chinese factories, and as long as these tariffs stand, finding a workaround remains challenging.
Acer isn’t new to this scenario. During Trump’s initial term, the administration imposed a hefty 25% tariff on desktop PCs from China, prompting Acer to shift its desktop manufacturing elsewhere. Now, Chen hints that a similar change might be on the cards for their laptops as they investigate supply chain alternatives. Could American factories be in the mix? Chen mentions that’s one possibility, as reported by The Telegraph.
Relocating production entirely to another country isn’t an overnight fix, and consumers will likely shoulder these costs for now. Tariffs generally aim to encourage manufacturing domestically, which theoretically should create jobs and ultimately bring prices down, though whether this unfolds remains unseen.
Now, a 10% increase is no small matter. Acer, while known for budget-friendly options, also offers premium devices. Take the recently announced Predator Helios Neo AI, slated for a May 2025 release. With its introductory price at $2,200, a 10% rise means customers might pay close to $2,500. Even those models nearing $1,000 will feel a significant $100 boost.
The repercussions of U.S. tariffs ripple beyond laptops. NVIDIA’s cutting-edge RTX 5000 GPUs are significantly exceeding their intended price, with custom versions progressively rising in price due to limited stock.
Given the trends with GPUs and laptops, I foresee popular gaming handhelds facing similar price surges. Devices like the ASUS ROG Ally, Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion Go, and others, have provided an affordable PC gaming entry point, but this could soon change. While Acer is the first to announce changes, I suspect this news will soon become a familiar narrative as more companies adjust to the new tariff realities.
