Samsung to hike electronics prices amid US tariff turmoil

Samsung Electronics warned that American tariffs could negatively impact demand for products across the entire electronics segment. The company, the world's largest producer of memory chips and smartphones, presented a pessimistic forecast for the rest of the year.

"Ongoing uncertainty surrounding US tariff policies continues to pose a potential risk of demand slowdown," said Samsung CFO Park Soon-cheol, as quoted by the "Financial Times." He emphasized that evolving tariff policies in major economies, along with more rigorous export restrictions, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, are already heightening uncertainty surrounding demand projections for the second half of the year.

Samsung reported that tariffs will raise the prices of smartphone components, which could lead to a decline in mobile device sales. Donald Trump's decision to halt the introduction of reciprocal tariffs prompted some customers to place orders earlier, which may negatively impact demand later in the year.

The company's warning comes after Samsung's semiconductor division reported a decrease in operating profit by about 40 percent in the first quarter of this year. Sales of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips suffered in particular. Analysts estimate that Samsung generates about one-third of its sales of this type of memory chip in China, on which the Americans have imposed a 145 percent tariff.

The United States has suspended "reciprocal tariffs" on dozens of countries, including South Korea, until July. However, a base tariff of 10 percent still applies, which may also translate into higher prices for Samsung electronics, such as smartphones and televisions.