Microchip Technology is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, but assembles the majority of its PIC microcontrollers and analog ICs in Thailand. Thailand-origin Microchip parts face only the 10% Section 122 surcharge.
Microchip Technology is headquartered in United States, but most components are manufactured in Thailand, Malaysia, United States, Thailand. For US customs purposes, the COO is where the component is manufactured — not where the company is based. Declaring United States as COO when parts ship from Thailand is a customs violation.
| Country | Sec 122 | Sec 301 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 10% | — | 10% |
| Malaysia | 10% | — | 10% |
| United States | 10% | — | 10% |
| Thailand | 10% | — | 10% |
* Section 301 rates shown for electronics HTS chapters (8541–8542). Rates vary by product.
| HTS Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 8542.31.0025 | PIC, dsPIC, SAM microcontrollers |
| 8542.32.0071 | SST flash memory |
| 8542.39.0000 | MCP analog ICs, Ethernet controllers |
Microchip Technology operates an IDM model with domestic US wafer fabrication and offshore assembly. Front-end wafer fabrication occurs at Microchip's own fabs in Chandler, Arizona (Fab 2 and Fab 4) and Gresham, Oregon (Fab 5, formerly Atmel). These fabs produce PIC, dsPIC, AVR, and SAM microcontrollers along with analog ICs on older geometries (0.5 µm to 5 µm). Back-end assembly and test — the operations that determine COO for US customs purposes — occurs primarily at Microchip's Bang Pa-in (Ayutthaya) and Chachoengsao facilities in Thailand, and at Penang, Malaysia. Thailand is the declared COO for the vast majority of Microchip catalog parts, including PIC16, PIC18, PIC32, dsPIC, and the MCP analog family.
Microchip products cover HTS 8542.31.0025 (PIC, dsPIC, SAM microcontrollers), 8542.32.0071 (SST flash memory products), 8542.39.0000 (MCP analog ICs, Ethernet controllers, wireless MCUs), and 8541.21.0090 (some discrete transistor products). For Thailand-origin Microchip parts: 10% Section 122, no Section 301. For Malaysia-origin parts: 10%. For any China-origin Microchip parts (uncommon but possible for some legacy SST flash lines): approximately 60%. The PIC16/18 8-bit families and dsPIC33 DSCs are among the most imported categories in US embedded systems manufacturing and consistently originate from Thailand. SAM (formerly Atmel AT32/ATSAMD/ATSAME) parts are primarily assembled in Thailand or Malaysia depending on variant.
A common misconception about Microchip is that, because the company operates US wafer fabs, the products are 'Made in USA' for customs purposes. This is incorrect. The US CBP's substantial transformation test applies to the manufacturing step that most significantly alters the product — in semiconductor manufacturing, this is the assembly (die attach, wire bond/flip chip, molding) and electrical test step, not wafer fabrication. Because Microchip's assembly occurs in Thailand, Thailand is the COO. Importers who declare 'USA' as COO for Microchip parts assembled in Thailand face Section 1592 penalty exposure. The company's made-in-USA wafer content does not satisfy the COO requirement for finished ICs.
PIC microcontrollers remain the dominant 8-bit MCU family in North American embedded design, with an installed base of several billion units across industrial, consumer, and automotive applications. dsPIC33 DSCs are widely used in motor control and power electronics. The SAM D and SAM E families (formerly Atmel) compete with STM32 in the ARM Cortex-M0+/M4 segment. At 10% Section 122, the tariff on a $0.50 PIC16F MCU is $0.05 — manageable for most BOM structures. However, for designs using thousands of PIC units monthly, the aggregate duty line becomes visible. Unlike STM32 which has significant China COO exposure, Microchip's Thailand manufacturing base results in uniformly lower tariff rates.
Microchip's wireless connectivity portfolio — including the WINC1500, WILC1000, and RNXX Bluetooth/WiFi modules — represents an expanding segment with different manufacturing profiles. These devices often incorporate RF dies from TSMC and are assembled in Thailand or Malaysia. Wireless certification documents and COO certificates should be requested for these products separately from general MCU purchasing, as module-level products may have different classification (HTS 8517.62.0000 for wireless modules vs. 8542.39.0000 for IC-only format) with different tariff implications.
Enter any Microchip Technology part number to get the COO, HTS code, and full duty calculation including MPF and HMF.
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