Electronics company posts bill with over $36K tariff charge, announces price increases
An electronic hardware company explained to customers why its prices will increase soon after sharing its latest bill, which included a $36,126.46 tariff charge.
Adafruit Industries said its import bill has grown over the past two months, but it just got hit with its first "big bill." Products were booked and manufactured through a vendor many months ago, ahead of the tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on various countries, including a 145% one on China.
The New York-based company clarified that its import and export duties charge is paid before selling any products and is due within a week of receipt, therefore significantly impacting "cash flow."
"We’ll have to increase the prices on some of these products, but we’re not sure if people will be willing to pay the higher cost, so we may well be ‘stuck’ with unsellable inventory that we have already paid a large fee on," the company wrote in a May 8 blog post titled "High tariffs become 'real' with our first $36K bill."
There's no way around the charge, as Adafruit said it buys its products from a vendor with IP protections, as opposed to a factory. The company said it would try to avoid a 125% ‘reciprocal’ tariff through a reclassification process for electronic products, but warned "there’s no assurance that it will succeed."
"And even if it does, it is many, many months until we could see a refund," the blog post reads.
Trump suggests lowering China tariffs
Trump hinted that he may lower the tariffs on goods from China from 145% to 80%, as trade between the world's largest economies has nearly halted.
“80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B,” Trump wrote on a Truth Social post May 9, referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
However, it is unclear whether the number was a final offer or up for negotiation with Chinese officials, who have condemned the tariffs, calling them "illegal and unreasonable."
"CHINA SHOULD OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA — WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DON’T WORK ANYMORE!!!" the president wrote in another Truth Social post.
Last month, Trump implemented sweeping 10% tariffs on imports from all countries, except China, and paused them for 90 days on April 9.
On May 9, Trump announced that he finalized a trade agreement with the United Kingdom that he called "very big" and "maxed out." Under the deal, the U.S. will lower its automobile tariffs from 25% to 10% on U.K. vehicles and its steel tariffs from 25% to zero.
Contributing: Bart Jansen and Zac Anderson, Paste BN