ABA Shares Overview of New U.S. Tariffs

The American Booksellers Association (ABA) has released an article that covers the U.S. “reciprocal tariffs” announced on April 2 and the expected effects on the publishing industry. A summary of the information follows:

The April tariffs, which follow February tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, impose a 10% baseline tariff on goods from all countries starting April 5, and higher rates for specific countries starting April 9. Subsequently, these higher rates were paused, and the rate for China was increased to 125%.

Books themselves are exempt from the April tariffs. However, imported materials like paper, pulp, and ink from many countries will be affected by the tariffs, increasing production costs. The ABA speculates that “It is likely that tariffs will increase the price of books and shipping” and that “even small input cost increases” could raise domestic book prices 5-10%, with inflation from broader tariffs exacerbating this increase even further. Retaliatory tariffs may also reduce revenue and demand for international sales.

Overall, resulting changes in book prices will depend on individual publisher and supplier response. The ABA predicts that smaller publishers will be hit hardest, and that they, as well as publishers depending on Chinese imports, may be forced to raise prices more.

For more information, see the ABA article.

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