Acer CEO Jason Chen has announced a forthcoming 10% price rise on laptops in the United States. The hike, which will be effective next month, is a result of the US government’s implementation of tariffs on Chinese-made goods. According to Chen, the price increase is a direct consequence of these tariffs and will occur “by default.” He also mentioned that the Taiwan-based company might explore relocating its manufacturing operations out of China, potentially to the US.

What Acer CEO Said About the Price Rise

In an interview with The Telegraph UK, Chen stated: “We will have to adjust the end user price to reflect the tariff. We think 10% probably will be the default price increase because of the import tax. It’s very straightforward.”

Although Chen decided to raise prices last week, he noted that since tariffs do not impact products shipped from China before February, the price increase may not be immediately apparent. Furthermore, Chen acknowledged that some companies might exploit the tariffs as an opportunity to raise prices by more than 10%.

Acer ranks as the fifth-largest computer seller in the US, behind HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Apple. This potential price increase could elevate the cost of Acer’s premium laptops to $3,700 (£2,934), making the impact of tariffs potentially hundreds of dollars per consumer at checkout. Interestingly, although US President Donald Trump initially claimed that tariffs wouldn’t result in higher consumer prices, he recently admitted that prices “could go up” due to these import duties.

Acer’s Plans to Move Out of China

Acer currently manufactures most of its laptops in China. However, due to earlier US tariffs, the company relocated its desktop production to other countries. Acer is now considering alternative supply chains, including potential manufacturing sites in the US.

At present, about 80% of laptops imported into the US are produced in China, a statistic shaken by the new 10% tariff imposition. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) cautions that these tariffs could cost American consumers up to $143 billion and considerably affect sales volumes.

If tariffs on Chinese goods were to rise to 70%, imports from China could potentially decline by 79%, while US-based production might increase by a mere 8%, leading to an estimated overall price increase of 45%.