Samsung Electronics is considering moving production of some of its TVs and home appliances as it looks to mitigate the impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration — even as its core chipmaking business struggles under the weight of American export restrictions targeting China.
Samsung did not disclose where the production might be shifted, according to the Japanese news agency Nikkei.
Currently, most of the televisions Samsung sells in the US are manufactured in Mexico, though the company also maintains a TV production facility in California.
For home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, Samsung operates plants in both South Carolina and Mexico.
The South Korean tech giant revealed the potential relocation on Wednesday as part of its first-quarter earnings report, which showed a sharp decline in semiconductor profits.
The company’s device solutions unit, which oversees semiconductors including memory and logic chips, suffered a 62.1% drop in operating profit from the previous quarter, falling to $770 million.
Revenue for the segment declined 17% to $17.6 billion.
“For the memory business… overall earnings were impacted by the erosion of average selling price, as well as a decrease in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) sales due to export controls on AI chips and deferred demand in anticipation of upcoming enhanced HBM3E products,” Samsung said in a statement.
Samsung’s struggles are in large part tied to ongoing US efforts to curb China’s access to advanced semiconductors and manufacturing equipment.
China, which accounted for nearly a third of Samsung’s geographic revenue last year, has been directly affected by Washington’s chip control policies — first enacted under Joe Biden and now being continued and expanded by the Trump administration.
The company also confirmed it is evaluating supply chain changes for its visual display and digital appliance units as South Korea negotiates with Washington for an exemption to Trump’s 25% “reciprocal” tariff, which has been temporarily paused for 90 days.
“We plan to minimize the impact of tariffs by… relocating production of some volumes for VD and DA businesses, using our global manufacturing bases, if necessary,” Park Soon-cheol, Samsung’s chief financial officer, said during an earnings call.
Despite the weakness in semiconductors, Samsung’s broader business saw some bright spots.
Its “device experience” unit — which includes smartphones, TVs, and home appliances — delivered a strong performance.
Operating profit in the segment more than doubled to $3.3 billion in the first quarter compared to the previous three months while revenue surged 28% to $36.3 billion.
“The MX Business experienced quarter-on-quarter growth in both revenue and operating profit thanks to the strong sales of its Galaxy S25 series, which features an advanced Galaxy AI experience,” the company noted.
Overall, Samsung posted a modest 1.2% increase in operating profit to $4.7 billion, with total revenue climbing 10.1% to $55.5 billion in the January–March period.
As tariff uncertainty looms and export controls continue to bite, Samsung’s ability to adapt its global manufacturing strategy may prove critical to sustaining its momentum in consumer electronics while navigating a turbulent geopolitical landscape.
