TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — MSI and Gigabyte are scrambling to ship Nvidia’s new RTX 5090 graphics cards and other products to the US before a potential tariff hike next month, Nikkei Asia reported Tuesday.

The urgency comes as the US–China tariff truce is set to expire on July 9; industry players fear a fresh round of trade friction under former President Donald Trump’s escalating policies.

“We’re racing against time,” MSI Chair Joseph Hsu (徐祥) said after the company’s annual general meeting in New Taipei on Tuesday. “Whatever we ship gets sold out immediately, so it’s hard to build inventory.”

The US accounts for around 20 percent of both companies’ revenue, making it a critical market alongside Europe. With newer GPUs only just launching, MSI said there was little time to front-load shipments ahead of tariff changes.

Under the current truce, tariffs on Chinese imports to the US sit at 30 percent—down from a previous 145 percent—but those rates could return or rise further without a new agreement. Delegates met in London this week in hopes of brokering a compromise.

MSI is expanding its manufacturing footprint with a new facility in Taoyuan set to open by 2027 and a California–based warehouse for AI servers and desktops due next quarter, per CNA. It is also seeking production partners in Vietnam and Thailand to hedge against geopolitical risks.

Gigabyte Chairman Dandy Yeh (葉培城) echoed similar concerns, saying May’s record-high sales came from rush orders driven by tariff fears. He added that uncertainty from the White House has unsettled the tech industry.

Both companies warned that a sharply appreciating Taiwan dollar could further strain margins. Gigabyte’s US plant for AI servers is slated to open later this year to enhance supply chain resilience.