Trump management business policies have triggered a wave of lobbying for exemptions, with industries throughout the economy sounding the alarm about how they could destroy their companies, increase consumer prices, and cause product shortages.
But for the holiday of July 4, the pyrotechnic sector, which depends strongly on imports in China, has increasingly expressed its concerns. The highest prices are pressing on small fireworks stores that spread over the interior roads, and the budgets of the cities and villages that organize great shows can soon get even tighter.
The greatest fear is for 2026, when industry representatives warn that many of the planned festivities to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary can be reduced or even canceled.
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“It’s really the next year that worries us, with the manufacture and what fares will cause,” said Stacy Schneitter-Blake, president of National Fireworks Association and co-owner of Schneitter Fireworks & Importing in Missouri.
Fireworks are a $ 2 billion industry in the United States, and about 99% of the fires that illuminate American skies come from China. Trump administration raised Chinese import rates to up to 145% this year, before reducing them to 30% in May, when the two countries reached a temporary truce.
Uncertainty about these tariffs has led some importers to try to stock fireworks before possible increases, while others have reduced their purchases because they can no longer afford prices. This also caused delays in China and blockages in the supply chain, with some loads of fireworks for the US being redirected to Chinese warehouses due to the cancellation of orders.
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The fireworks have a bipartisan appeal, so the industry expected its products to receive special treatment.
When the US and China were at commercial war in 2019, during the first Trump administration, he exempted the fireworks of tariffs. Now, while Republican’s new management seeks to negotiate commercial agreements with China and other countries, it has been reluctant to give up its negotiation power by weakening tariffs with exemptions.
Campaign for tariff relief
Fear of the future of the fireworks industry has generated an aggressive lobby campaign. The National Fireworks Association and the American Pyrotechnics Association have pressured the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress to grant tariff relief, arguing that the fireworks are a symbol of American patriotism that should not be taxed.
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“John Adams imagined that the independence of America should be celebrated with ‘pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, weapons, bells, bonfires and illuminations’,” wrote the lobby groups to Trump in April. “An exemption for fireworks will allow companies to continue their plans to have sufficient and affordable stock so that Americans can participate and enjoy this historic occasion.”
In the United States, fireworks are often associated with summer festivities and sporting events. But fireworks shows have been popular for centuries and have deep roots in Europe and China, where alchemists mixed potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal to create gunpowder and fire fires through hollow bamboos.
In the nineteenth century, Italian immigrants brought their knowledge in pyrotechnics to the US, using metals and explosives to create colorful aerial explosions of sound and light on the American back, just as they illuminated European castles.
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Rudimentary fireworks are relatively simple to manufacture, but those used in major public shows can be complicated and dangerous. Strict regulations on the handling of chemicals and explosives make it difficult to produce fireworks in the US.
According to the National Fireworks Association, 16,000 fireworks containers were imported to the US in 2022 and 2023, and less than 100 came from outside China. US fireworks insurance is usually not available due to the danger of production.
In June, nine people died and more than 20 were injured in an explosion in a fire factory in China.
Although popular, fireworks do not generate major profits. Shows can cost from 3,000 to $ 250,000. Profit margins are small, making it difficult for importers and retailers to absorb 30%rates.
“Fireworks are a luxury; when the cost is so high, the end consumer can no longer buy them as before,” said AJ Burns, sales manager at North Central Industries, an Indian company that distributes Great Grizzly Fireworks. “If they get more expensive, the fires will disappear.”
Burns said he has considered importing fireworks from Cambodia and Brazil, but so far these countries have no infrastructure to meet US demand and security requirements. He stated that fireworks are about celebrating freedom and independence and should not be taxed.
Trump likes fireworks
Like many Americans, Trump has always enjoyed great fireworks shows.
At the 2020 Republican National Convention in Washington, his name was written in heaven with fires (causing more than $ 40,000 in damage to National Mall). Last month, Trump admired a fireworks show at a military parade that coincided with his 79th birthday.
Despite Trump’s appreciation for the fires, the White House has little sympathy for the industry situation.
“Real prosperity and patriotism is not to celebrate our country’s independence with cheap fireworks made abroad-it is having vibrant cities, a prosperous working class and a robust manufacturing,” said Kush Desai, White House spokesman.
Regulation and Security
Increasing domestic production of fires will not be fast or easy. Dangerous chemical regulations and safety concerns make it difficult to build US factories.
American retailers say it is difficult to find safely -handled workers safely handled in a seasonal and holiday -centered industry.
“It’s hard to train an 18 -year -old to operate a point of sale system,” said John Sorgi of the American Fireworks in Ohio; “Do you want me to train people to mix post explosives for a fireworks show?”
Sorgi added that what the industry really needs is clarity about China’s tariffs so importers can plan and ensure that next year’s shows happen.
“Our industry has never been so close to the limit, and this should be the largest July 4 we ever had,” he said.
This article was originally published in The New York Times.
