Top PC Manufacturers Urge Chinese Partners to Boost Production Ahead of Trump Presidency

Following Donald Trump’s announcement to impose a 10% tariff on imports from China, major PC manufacturers Dell, HP, and Microsoft took proactive steps. According to a report by Nikkei, they instructed their Chinese manufacturing partners to ramp up production in November and December. This move was aimed at reducing costs and avoiding potential disruptions. The broader strategy for these tech giants, and indeed the industry at large, involves relocating their manufacturing bases from China to other countries.

“Several U.S. clients have been in discussions with us, pressing to see if we could speed up our transition to significant production capacities outside of China,” reported one electronics component supplier working with big names like Apple, HP, and Microsoft to Nikkei.

The movement of electronics production out of China by leading suppliers has been ongoing for some years, aimed at minimizing geopolitical risks. This strategy is independent of whether Trump reassumes presidency. Nevertheless, the imposition of a 10% tariff on Chinese goods and a 25% tariff on products from Mexico and Canada, which was announced on Trump’s first day in office, has spurred these companies into swift action.

With a significant portion of their components and assembly operations based in China, Dell, HP, and Microsoft have requested their Chinese suppliers to maximize their output in the later months of the year. This would allow them to ship finished products either directly to the U.S. or to storage facilities in other nations, thereby dodging the incoming tariffs.

Dell is already producing certain products in Vietnam and is looking into further expanding its production footprint within Southeast Asia to sidestep geopolitical risks. For HP, a partner has already leased a factory in Thailand to kickstart production. Additionally, new warehouses and manufacturing sites are being set up in Thailand for HP, with more facilities planned. Both Dell and HP are actively working to substantially cut down on their reliance on Chinese components for their desktops and laptops, reevaluating their procurement strategies through 2025.

Microsoft is urging its suppliers to boost production of cloud server components in the upcoming months to sidestep tariffs. The tech giant is also planning to move the assembly of its Xbox consoles and Surface laptops out of China. While such a transition can’t happen overnight, Microsoft is targeting to shift as much production as possible out of China by the end of 2025.

Moreover, since Trump’s initial election win, contract electronics manufacturers have preemptively ramped up production across a broad array of components, including mechanical parts, passive components, and PCBs. Trump’s campaign comments about ‘origin laundering’ have injected a sense of urgency into these moves, as companies strive to align with regulatory and tariff demands.