How Will Tariffs Effect the Guitar Market

[sabasgr68]

There will still be 10 bazillion cheap barely used foreign made guitars for sale for decades to come. They will always be the lowest priced offerings. They will always cost less than the lowest priced new ones.

I like what you're saying...

[peskypesky1]

“These measures threaten the economic and cultural impact of U.S.-made musical instruments”: NAMM president responds to Trump's tariffs – urgently urging the administration to exempt the musical instrument market

https://www.guitarworld.com/music-indus ... mp-tariffs

[peskypesky1]

How Tariffs and Production Shifts Threaten Fender and the Future of “Made in USA” Guitars

https://www.gearnews.com/tariffs-produc ... sa-guitar/

[peskypesky1]

Guitar Prices Set to Soar in 2025 as Tariffs Shake Up the Market

https://guitarbites.com/guitar-prices-s ... he-market/

[Tonray's Ghost]

How Tariffs and Production Shifts Threaten Fender and the Future of “Made in USA” Guitars

https://www.gearnews.com/tariffs-produc ... sa-guitar/

I'm not so keen on 'Made in Trumpistan" label guitars. Necks with far too much red tint, and massive headstocks, not to mention weak inner construction and of course all ceramic magnets because rare earth metals won't be available anymore.

[tobijohn]

Guitar Prices Set to Soar in 2025 as Tariffs Shake Up the Market

https://guitarbites.com/guitar-prices-s ... he-market/

The article is dated 3/24/25 and references a 10% tariff on Chinese goods being responsible for a potential 25% increase in guitar prices. Instead, there is currently a 145% tariff in place.

[andrewsrea]

I need to qualify myself to provide context to my thoughts. My education was an enthusiastic 1984 Bachelor of Science PSU in Finance (investments) with a Minor in Economics (which means I purposefully took on 18 credits of 600-page books and research projects), 2004 MBA focused on Program Management and Organizational Dynamics (structuring businesses), 35 years of aerospace leadership and continuing business education. I consider my career successful for the companies I worked for and myself. In short, the economy is something I continue to attempt to understand.

Accordingly, I am not just a tech geek which many know me as. By far, my forte was business, small and large.

As far as impact, a person has to move from the next impact and single-stage events, to visualizing a successful end game (and any of its highly probable unintended outcomes). Economics is only rooted in absolute axioms via some math equations and the rest is the art of phycology (sometimes proctology). Also, most economic short-term effects are called 'shifts'. The best way to think of these, is the money (or economic value) doesn't evaporate, but instead goes from one place to another.

The current tariff strategy endgame would create a freer marketplace between the US and its allies and put its adversaries into an economically inferior global state. Tariffs will either be negotiated to 'free trade' (no tariffs) or parity (equal tariffs). It will allow manufacturing to grow in different countries. For instance, I could see Chinese entrepreneurs repatriating to India, Vietnam and Indonesia to create the same factories which now exist in China. The current US trade imbalance has also been a long-tern contributor to our US debt (the federal government has been subsidizing the imbalance through many policies), to which this will help us reduce debt and debt maintenance (interest payments). This will allow more tax funds to go to worthwhile programs or result in less taxes and more citizen spending money.

I see short periods of variability, but in the end and in consideration of supply and demand (which will dictate prices, quality, innovation and availability) - I don't see that wildly changing over the long haul. It may end manufacturers and sales outlets which panic or have been in trouble before this, and it is likely to eventually create new ones according to demand. Who knows if guitar playing will even be a thing in 15 years?

[golem]

The consensus among economists is that tariffs are a bad thing.

It's advertised as a way to bring more manufacturing to the US, but in many industries like the one I work in, most factories will be automated, and most work will be geared towards running such machines. So it's not likely to help the average US factory worker but people who focus on designing, installing, operating, and repairing said machines.

[tonebender]

Just think, all you import hoarders will be sitting on a giant pot of gold.

[tobijohn]

Just think, all you import hoarders will be sitting on a giant pot of gold.