Last week, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum proposing reciprocal tariffs for countries that already have tariffs in place that affect the United States. “If they charge us, we charge them,” Trump told reporters leading up to the announcement on Thursday.

There’s no official date for when the tariffs will be imposed, but White House officials said that Trump wants to move rapidly, suggesting it would be “weeks” and no longer than “a few months” until they are in place, The Hill reported.

What does this boil down to?

The reciprocal tariffs will be customized for each foreign trading partner, based on five different areas:

  • tariffs the nation imposes on U.S. products;
  • unfair taxes imposed;
  • cost to U.S. businesses and consumers from another country’s policies;
  • exchange rates;
  • and any other practices the trade representative’s office determines is unfair.


The move is considered a significant escalation in what has become a global trade war. The implications will be determined over time, but PPAI Media has already received word from Goldstar, PPAI 100’s No. 16 supplier, that tariff news in recent weeks has led to temporary congestion and processing delays.

“We completely understand that this extended delay [approximately five business days] may be frustrating, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” Heather Smartt, global head of Goldstar, said in an email to customers on Friday.

Rest assured, we’re working hard behind the scenes to ensure your orders are on track and will reach you as quickly as possible.”

Heather Smartt

Global Head of Goldstar

“We truly appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. Rest assured, we’re working hard behind the scenes to ensure your orders are on track and will reach you as quickly as possible. Our proactive measures, such as adding more brokers and expanding our carrier network, are already in place to minimize the impact.

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Danny Rosin, CAS, co-president of Brand Fuel, PPAI 100’s No. 46 distributor, and a member of PPAI’s Board of Directors, told PPAI Media, in light of the global tariff announcements, that a longer-term perspective is worth taking. The dominoes of negative short-term developments could produce positive aspects.

Despite the volatility, uncertainty and adverse impacts that may come from these swift and sweeping mandates, it should create some positive change as well.”

Danny Rosin, CAS

Co-president, Brand Fuel

“Despite the volatility, uncertainty and adverse impacts that may come from these swift and sweeping mandates, it should create some positive change as well,” Rosin says. “It should drive innovation and new product categories, domestic sourcing and diversification of supply chains in the industry and hopefully more sustainability-focused marketing initiatives.”

Chris Anderson, CEO of HPG, PPAI 100’s No. 6 supplier, and another PPAI Board member, has also made clear that those adverse impacts are more than speculation. “The principles of economics teach us of the disruptive effects, generally, of tariffs,” Anderson says.

The principles of economics teach us of the disruptive effects, generally, of tariffs.”

Chris Anderson

CEO, HPG

Still, he reflects a notion likely shared by many promo firms in a strong preference toward avoiding passing these impacts on to clients.

“Prior to considering any possible tariff-driven increase to the selling price of our products, HPG will first exhaust any-and-all opportunities to offset the impact of tariffs,” Anderson says. “Only after all such mitigating strategies have been exhausted will HPG break out the net impact of tariffs and provide a transparent view of their impact on pricing.”

A Multi-Pronged Tariff Saga

The global reciprocal tariffs are among a flurry of tariff announcements the president has made in the past three weeks, which PPAI Media has covered with promo perspectives.

PPAI, with assistance from our lobbyists at Thorn Run Partners, sent a letter to top congressional leaders on Feb. 6 urging them to work toward a balanced trade policy that protects American interests while ensuring that American businesses, such as those in the promotional products industry, are not disproportionately burdened.


“Distributors across the industry should be exploring alternative sourcing options proactively,” said Jim Stutz, executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development at HALO, PPAI 100’s No. 2 distributor.

For questions or suggestions on regulatory or government affairs issues, please contact Rachel Zoch at RachelZ@ppai.org.