Falcon Northwest boss Kelt Reeves said the company had already been bracing for Trump's 20 per cent China import duties but got hammered again thanks to the aluminium tariff, which hit on 12 March.

“We thought that tariff was on raw aluminium and steel, not finished PC cases,” he told PCMag.

It turns out that the 25 per cent rate also applies to aluminium “derivative” goods, such as your shiny GPU or steel-and-aluminium tower.

Taiwan based SilverStone Technology confirmed the blow, stating, “We’ve been hit with a 25 per cent additional tariff on top of the 20 per cent general tariff for anything coming from China,” and warned that price hikes would trickle down to consumers.

InWin, another PC case vendor, reports the same. We are currently using our existing inventory to maintain our prices, but as our stock levels decline, we may need to adjust our prices soon.

The impact stems from two customs tariff codes—8473.30.2000, which broadly covers PC components, as it applies to “Parts and accessories, including face plates and lock latches, of printed circuit assemblies.” The second, 8473.30.5100, targets PC desktops and their casings, as well as components such as graphics cards. 

Trade lawyer Laura Rabinowitz was blunt: “If the products are on the list, there are no exceptions to the tariff.” Therefore, vendors importing metal-heavy PC gear can expect to incur losses unless exemptions are granted later.

One Reddit user, "Neoescape", flagged the GPU hit early, posting about an eye-watering duty imposed on data centre cards, before mods mysteriously removed the warning.

If vendors don’t specify aluminium content, customs services like FedEx or UPS reportedly default to taxing 100 per cent of the shipment’s value.

We would suggest that the US computer industry move to building their chips and cases from wood, but Trump has already placed tarrifs on timber imports. Soon, the only person who can afford a computer in the US will be Elon [Roman Salute] Musk.