TRUMP TARIFFS HIT SUPPORTERS’ PRINT

As the most important time of the year for Christians approaches, the 145 per cent tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on Chinese products coming into the US will lead to soaring costs for their  Bibles, almost all of which are printed in China.

The Trump-supporting evangelicals, and other Christians, will now be paying two and half times the cost for the Holy Book than they are used to. US print businesses will not be able to quickly pivot to Bible printing, as they lack the capacity to print on the ultra-thin papers typically used.

Bibles are printed on uncoated papers from just 22gsm up to 55gsm. Web offset presses need to be specially configured, with specialised folding and binding equipment necessary, and staff trained in the process.

Americans bought 14.2 million Bibles in 2023, and even more last year. A huge amount of coffee-table books are also printed in China, and these too will be out of bounds while the tariffs continue.

US printers are already facing higher costs thanks to the tariffs, with Chinese-made products and supplies now out of reach, and all other print equipment and supplies not manufactured in the US subject to a 10 per cent tariff, although that may change at any day, as it has done since the tariffs were first brought in on Liberation Day.

Some print production equipment is manufactured in the US, including EFI large format printers, and Kodak and HP continuous feed high volume digital presses, but almost everything else for print comes from overseas including offset and digital presses.

Australian printers do not export much print to the US directly, but are producing work for products that are exported to the US, and so may take a hit if the ten per cent tariff on Australian goods dents or halts exports of those products.

Kellie Northwood, CEO of VMA said, “Our members provide printing, labelling and packaging across a range of Australian goods and products exported to the USA. Those goods include more than $200m in wine and beverages, to the $1.3bn in pharmaceutical products. If those sectors suffer as a result of the newly imposed tariffs, our members may also be affected.”

Northwood has also been in touch with the government’s anti-dumping authority to ensure it is cognisant of the possibility of goods and supplies that were destined for the US being dumped in Australia.