“We believe it’s a lot of research from people who want to hold out to see if there’s going to be any movement on the tariffs before they need to place orders.” Indeed, suppliers specializing in “Made-inUSA” products are seeing greater demand since President Donald Trump has implemented various tariffs over the past few months. Many of these promo firms, including Unionwear, have told PPAI Media that enthusiasm for domestic sourcing has intensified following Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2, when he unveiled a 10% baseline tariff on imports from all countries and an individualized reciprocal tariff above 10% for 60 some-odd trading partners of the United States. • This individualized rate was paused for 90 days on April 10. • Except for China, which currently faces 145% tariffs on top of tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term, which could mean a 165% tariff rate on some products, according to Nigel Harris, co-founder and CEO of PowerStick. • Even before Trump’s trade policy went into effect, nearly half (46%) of PPAI 100 suppliers and distributors planned to focus on domestic sourcing this year, according to PPAI Research. Cahn compares the current mad dash for American-made products to the onset of the pandemic, when buyers who couldn’t get PPE out of China were forced to buy domestically. Data also supports the comparison: April 2024 is the biggest month-over-month increase in distributor searches for “Made-in-U.S.” products since April 2020, according to PPAI’s technology partner SAGE. • Meanwhile, searches for “Made-in-Canada” products saw a massive spike beginning in February after Trump announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Although those buyers went right back to China as soon as it became more affordable, Cahn, like many “Made-in-USA” suppliers, is hoping the outcome is different this time. “Our sales cycle is longer than five days so it’s hard to see the immediate impact in our bank account,” Cahn says, “but we do know that more quotes mean more distributors that are shocked at how close the pricing is when all expenses are taken into account.” Business Boost Year to date, sales are up over 70% for LBU, which specializes in domestic cut-and-sew manufacturing of promo products, compared to the same period last year, according to Jordan Scaduto, partner and executive vice president of the Paterson, New Jerseybased supplier. “We’re hearing directly from distributors, many of whom for the first time, that their clients are specifically requesting USA-made products – not just because of lead times or quality concerns, but because they’re overwhelmed by the tariff uncertainty and the unpredictability of global sourcing right now,” Scaduto told PPAI Media. “Buying domestically gives them peace of mind. They know they can avoid surprising costs, customs delays and the shifting landscape of international trade.” Meanwhile, Linden, New Jersey-based All American Writing Instruments, which manufactures all components of its product line domestically, has reported year-to-date sales increasing 25% over the same period last year. Furthermore, the number of unique distributors who have ordered from AAWI has doubled in that same timeframe. “While I can’t be certain as to what percentage of this is due to our products being USA-made, I do feel it has a large impact,” Colleen Shea, vice president of sales at AAWI, told PPAI Media. “Many distributors reached out to us in anticipation of the tariffs. Even if “We’re giving out a ton of quotes on huge numbers where buyers don’t have a compelling reason to buy domestically. We believe it’s a lot of research from people who want to hold out to see if there’s going to be any movement on the tariffs before they need to place orders.” –MITCH CAHN 76 • JUNE 2025 • PPAI Must Read | Red, White And Sold
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