Guitar makers and other manufacturers in the musical instrument market face potential devastation from the Trump tariffs, say representatives and advocates for the industry.
Factors that affect the companies include higher costs for goods, supply chain disruptions and the lack of time provided for manufacturers to plan for and adapt to the new world order created by the tariffs.
“The consensus is these tariffs can be really devastating for our industry, and it's devastating in several ways,” John Mlynczak, President and CEO of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), tells Guitar World in an upcoming interview.
“It's not just the sudden costs that will have to be figured out by companies individually, but it's also the disruption of supply chains. It's the unpredictability, uncertainty and the suddenness of the tariffs. Companies do not have the time to plan, adapt, evolve or make any changes."
Mlynczak is leading a delegation to D.C. this week to lobby against tariffs and meet with members of the Ways and Means Committee, which shapes fiscal legislation.
Noting the effect the tariffs will have on costs and production, Mlynczak recently issued a statement calling upon the adminstration to “exempt musical instruments and accessories, along with materials used to manufacture musical products.”
“The negative effects of these measures threaten the economic and cultural impact of U.S.-made musical instruments and accessories,” his statement reads, “as well as cause our U.S. music products industry to lose its global competitive advantage in producing high-quality products, especially at professional and entry levels.”
Mlynczak is also among the representatives from some of the United States’ largest guitar brands who came together on Capitol Hill this week to advocate for the importance of tonewoods and their vital role in the American musical instrument sector.
Guitar.com reports that the delegation includes Mlynczak; Gibson’s Erin Salmon; Martin’s John McElroy; Fender Executive Vice President of Product, Justin Norvell; PRS Director of Supply Chain, Meghan Efland; and Taylor Guitars Director of Sustainability, Scott Paul. The delegation met with Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and plans to continue its efforts.
Numerous other voices within the industry have responded to the tariffs by explaining how they will cripple production for some manufacturers. Electro-Harmonix founder Mike Matthews said his effects pedal company will have to continue to purchase raw materials from overseas, noting that, like many other U.S.-based companies, no other option is available.
Social media influencer Rhett Shull has gone as far as to say the Trump tariffs will kill the guitar industry. Shull explains that, even if a company builds its instruments in the U.S. with materials made and manufactured here, they will still be purchasing materials made outside the country.
Shull uses a Fender Ultra II Stratocaster — an electric guitar largely made in the U.S.A. — to illustrate his point.
“Let's say, for the sake of argument that everything in this guitar was sourced from the United States and was built and assembled in the United States,” he says, before running through the litany of items — from sandpaper and packing materials to computers, lights and more — required to create, process and ship them.
“All of that stuff comes from other countries, and all of those things are necessary to run any kind of business where you're manufacturing, whether it's a guitar, a pedal or anything else,” he says. “When the price of all of that stuff goes up, your operating cost as a business goes up with it, and therefore your margin shrinks.
“And if the margin shrinks to a point where you can't afford to make payroll, you can't afford to continue to turn a profit as a business, then something's got to give.”
Mlynczak says the most important thing citizens can do is contact their congress person.
“We are hearing from our lobby firm that [it's] the way the automakers and Apple have gotten exclusions [from tariffs],” he says. “We are hearing that it's because of pressure on Congress.
“When you pressure your member of Congress, even though there's no bill and there's no process for Congress, that member of Congress can take that pressure and push it on their other folks, internally in D.C.”
The effect of the tariffs have already been felt by Fender. In March, the company has been hit by three credit rating downgrades due to the rising costs brought on by the Trump administration's newly imposed tariffs, which credit rating analyst Moody's predicts could result in operational costs rising by “approximately $20 to $25 million.”
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