THE MI INDUSTRY REACTS TO TARIFFS After the Trump administration imposed tariffs on products made in China in April, nearly every company in the MI industry has felt an impact. Here, we speak with a few MI companies to get a better picture of this constantly developing situation. — By Katie Kailus & Kimberly Kapela
O n April 2, President Trump issued an Executive Order introducing sweeping new tariffs, including a 10% baseline on all imports and a 54% total tariff on Chinese goods, sparking global trade tensions. The move has triggered sharp market declines, international retaliation — especially from China — and widespread criticism. Since then, NAMM has responded that this Executive Order will have “serious and devastating consequences for the music prod- ucts industry, which is already facing chal- lenges from the previous tariffs imposed on products imported from China, Canada and Mexico, as well as the additional tariffs on imported materials.” During the annual NAMM Fly-in to Wash- ington, D.C. in early May, John Mlynczak, NAMM’s president and CEO, and a team of leading MI manufacturers, including reps from PRS, Fender, Martin and Gibson, all met in a closed-door meeting with legislators on the tariffs. Additional coverage of that meeting will run in our July issue, however, prior to the meeting, NAMM’s Mlynczak released a state- ment reading in part that NAMM believes the imposition of tariffs on the music prod- ucts industry will cause U.S. businesses that manufacture guitars, pianos, violins, mando- lins, woodwind and percussion instruments, electronic components and accessories to lose their global competitive advantage in producing high-quality pro- and entry-level instruments. “The unique supply chains of the music products industry are also unfairly impacted by these tariffs,” Mlynczak said. “For ex- ample, while the share of all U.S. imports from China is 13.4%, the music products industry’s China imports are 43%. Vietnam is 4.2% overall, while the music products industry is 26%. “We continue to urge the administration to exempt musical instruments and accessories, along with materials used to manufacture musical products, from these measures. The negative effects threaten the economic and cultural impact of U.S.-made musical instru-
Photo courtesy of NAMM/Shutterstock.
ments and accessories. Just ahead of the Fly-in tariff meeting, we spoke with one B&O manufacturer who said the impact of the tariffs has “been direct and immediate.” “We’re focused on staying operational and building resilience,” the supplier who asked to remain anonymous said. “That means continuing to fulfill orders — even if it’s in smaller quantities — and keeping product moving where there’s still demand. Some of our dealers have paused or scaled back, but we’re still moving inventory where demand remains active. “As a brand, we’re also preparing to ex- pand direct-to-consumer sales if needed,” the supplier continued. “It’s not our preferred model — we believe in supporting our dealer network — but with rising costs and thinner margins, especially on China-made merchan- dise, we need options to maintain cash flow.” One piano manufacturer we spoke to shared a more daunting picture. “With the dramatic tariff situation, all the exports to the U.S. have been postponed,” their rep said. THE ‘TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT’ Retailers across the country have reported getting notices from their manufacturing partners regarding price increases due to the
China-related tariffs, including Tim Pratt, owner of Dietze Music in Lincoln, Nebraska. “We’re seeing price increases all the time,” Pratt said. “We’re getting notices from sup- pliers daily. I’ve had some tell us: ‘I’ve got stuff on the water, which means it’s going to come in at the higher price. It’s already almost here.’ So, what are they supposed to do? They have to pass the price along. As a result, sales slow down for all of us, and meanwhile the end [result] is the consumer can’t buy what they need to in order to con- tinue their music journey. That’s important because that’s going trickle right down into the schools where the educators can’t buy what they need. And then it just gets to the point where now they have to make choices.” Pratt said his main concern surrounding the tariffs and the MI industry is the effect on the education market. “My thinking is: Was the United States trade balance out of whack? Probably, but that’s above my pay grade. That said, some- times I don’t think the people making the decisions understand the trickle-down effect,” Pratt continued. “If you’re going to start do- ing this, where all of a sudden you’re now taking instruments out of kids’ hands due to these higher prices, we’re really hurting our future.” Echoing Pratt’s sentiments, Peter Sides,
16 I MUSIC INC. I JUNE 2025
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