The American mining industry is feeling the impact of rising tariffs on devices imported from Southeast Asia.
The U.S. Bitcoin mining sector is experiencing a slowdown in growth following the implementation of reciprocal tariffs on imported mining equipment, according to Ethan Vera, Chief Operating Officer of Luxor Technology, who spoke with The Block. The situation escalated after the end of the 90-day tariff pause announced by the Trump administration during the “Liberation Day” trade review in April.
As of July 31, the White House finalized new reciprocal tariffs targeting key production hubs for ASIC machines. The new rates, effective August 7, impose a 19% reciprocal tariff on devices imported from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, bringing the total tax burden to 21.6%.
As for China, a critical hub for production, tariffs remain temporarily unchanged. A base reciprocal tariff of 10% is in effect until August 12, with an additional China-specific surcharge of 20%, resulting in a total of 57.6% in tariffs on mining devices imported from the country.
According to Vera, these measures are already reducing demand among U.S. customers and diverting the flow of mining hardware to countries with more favorable import regimes, such as Canada.
“We generally foresee a dampening in growth in the U.S. which will lead machines to head to overseas markets with more favorable import tariffs,” Vera said. “At 21.6% tariffs, the U.S. is now one of the least competitive jurisdictions to bring machines in, and miners are looking at Canada and other markets to expand too.”
Before Trump’s second term, ASIC machines imported from Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia were subject to a standard duty of around 2.6%. Devices from China faced the same base rate but included an additional 25% surcharge under Section 301 trade measures.
In response to the situation, Luxor is helping clients secure hardware through domestic manufacturing partnerships, including a local production agreement with major Chinese manufacturer MicroBT. “We think that all the major ASIC manufacturers are actively expanding their capabilities to produce domestically to deliver machines to U.S. clients at affordable costs,” Vera added.
Vera also pointed out that companies holding inventories of used mining machines in the U.S. could benefit from the current environment. “We think U.S.-based used ASIC machines will have strong price appreciation as they trade up 20% plus, which will be favorable to miners with existing fleets in the U.S.,” he explained.
Despite the short-term challenges, Luxor sees long-term opportunities in domestic mining hardware production. However, Vera warns it could take years to fully shift equipment manufacturing to the U.S. “We think that final assembly in the U.S. is possible today, and many manufacturers are doing it. However, the raw materials and components largely come from Asia so the machines will still end up carrying a higher cost,” he concluded.
