Major U.S. enterprises face billions in tariff exposure for AI data center components; modeling and managing exposure requires value chain visibility, traceability, and collaboration
An analysis by Altana of the world’s most comprehensive body of supply chain data reveals that tariffs are adding billions of dollars to AI data center construction costs for U.S. enterprises. In 2024, there was $31.8 billion worth of U.S. imports of finished physical components that went into the construction of AI data centers.
Based on 2025’s tariff rates, and Altana’s multi-tier analysis of country of origin, U.S. importers are projected to incur $13.6 billion worth of additional tariff exposure annually.
The analysis indicates that some components vital to AI data center builds, such as AC power supply, fiber optic cables, automatic computing, and more, are responsible for a disproportionate volume of the total tariff exposure. The analysis also found that the 145% tariff rate on China’s imports is skyrocketing the costs of AI data center builds, pointing to the necessity of product value chain visibility, traceability, and collaboration to mitigate exposure and maintain profitability. Enterprises Face Different Tariff Rates, Substantial Costs on Different Physical Components
American enterprise businesses rely on different physical components to contract the building of AI data centers. Altana’s analysis found that tariff exposure varies widely from component to component based on product and country of origin, with levies on some AI data center parts slated to more than double import costs in 2025. For example, $5.5 billion worth of electric static converters, commonly used to keep AI data centers cool, were imported for AI data center builds in 2024. Based on Altana’s analysis, the new, annualized tariff rate on that component is 35%, adding up to $1.9 billion of additional importer costs.
For wires and electric parts such as fiber optic cables, there will be $1.1 billion of additional levies on top of the $2.5 billion of 2024 imports. For automatic computing software such as data processing machines, tariffs will more than double the costs of imports, with a tariff rate of 114% imposing $3.9 billion of additional levies on the $3.4 billion of last year’s import value.
2025 Tariffs on AI Data Center Components From China Projected to Eclipse Entire Import Value in 2024
Huge tariffs on China amid the U.S.-China trade war creates significant tariff exposure for American enterprises building AI data centers, with the projected levies on China to U.S. AI data parts in 2025 exceeding the total import value of 2024 shipments.
Unfavorable tariffs rates on China are layered on top of a relatively large volume of imports of Chinese parts destined for AI data centers. $7.7 billion of imports of parts bound for AI data centers come from China to the U.S., compared to $4.5 billion from Vietnam and $2.7 billion from Taiwan.
The large tariff rate on automatic computing and software, compared to other components, indicates significant exposure for U.S. businesses on China’s computing manufacturing supply chain, which is the largest in the world. China’s dominance in this type of manufacturing leaves certain U.S. businesses exposed to huge AI data center building costs: One major U.S. enterprise has a projected $1.96 billion in additional yearly tariff exposure; dozens of others have $100 million to $1 billion in annual exposure.
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About the Analysis
Altana’s analysis covered the value of direct imports of inputs and components that were traced to the building of data centers in the U.S. in 2024. The analysis doesn't include imports of raw commodities like steel or aluminum; instead, imports of finished physical components, including cooled server racks, data center-level fiber optic cables, networking gear, and more, were included.
