Editor’s Note: Eric Chen’s comments to PPAI Media came less than 24 hours before President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post about yet another 10% tariff being implemented on imports from China on March 4.

After comments on Wednesday created confusion about the tariff timeline, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to clarify that the currently paused 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go into effect on March 4.


In his Truth Social post, the president also indicated that the promised global reciprocal tariffs will go into effect on April 2, one day after a study among his administration on the levies is scheduled to conclude.

Furthermore, Trump posted that “China will likewise be charged an additional 10% tariff” on March 4.

When it comes to navigating the challenges of increased tariffs and ones soon to be implemented, the most common suggestion by leaders in the promotional products industry is to diversify your supply chain.

But that’s not necessarily the best option for supplier Fossa Apparel (PPAI 330885, Silver), which is headquartered in Fremont, California, and has family ties with factories in China.

  • Fossa Apparel specializes in outerwear, polos and shirts and focuses on sustainability and custom design.


“When you hear of tariffs coming and potential trade wars, you always wonder if you need to go outside of China,” says Eric Chen, general manager at Fossa Apparel. “We can do cut and sew elsewhere, maybe Vietnam or Cambodia, but your fabrics, hardware, zippers, lots of things we use, are better off coming from China because there’s a whole line of established manufacturers there.

“For now, it still makes sense to stay in China with the relationships we have and our developed supply chain.”

Holding Steady

Given that the family-owned, woman-owned and minority-owned small business won’t be shifting sourcing strategies anytime soon, the Chen family has had to decide how to handle the additional 10% tariff implemented on Chinese imports earlier this month.

  • Fossa Apparel President Michelle Chen founded the business with her parents in 2007.
  • Her husband Will is CFO, and her younger brother Eric manages all production, distribution, IT and training.
  • Their uncle runs the main factory in China that they use, but they also work with another factory for certain projects.  


Crediting the company’s deep-rooted relationships with its overseas factories, Eric says Fossa Apparel can absorb the increased costs brought on by the tariff rather than passing it along to distributors and ultimately, the consumer.

RELATED: Navigating Tariffs: Strategies For Distributors And Suppliers

“Right now, we’re holding our 2025 prices steady,” Chen says. “As long as the tariff doesn’t escalate to something more than 10%, the impact isn’t tremendous*. With that being said, it’s still impacting the industry because we’re seeing a lot of companies being more careful with their spending. It’s been a little soft at the beginning of the year because companies are trying to see how the tariffs will impact their business.”

*Note: Trump announced yet another 10% added to Chinese tariffs less than 24 hours after Chen made these comments.

Promo firms have already reported that inflation and economic uncertainty are causing clients to delay or cut marketing budgets, according to PPAI Research’s tariff impact survey.

  • Over 85% of respondents anticipate cost increases more than 5% due to tariffs, with over half experiencing moderate impacts and a third facing significant financial burdens.


“It’s just a very, very chaotic environment,” Stephen Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, told The Associated Press. “It’s hard to plan in any sort of long-term, sustainable way.’’

Eric Chen headshot
We’re going to do whatever we can to keep our customers in the best position to purchase from us and be able to use us to better their business.”

Eric Chen

GM, Fossa Apparel

Thanks to its factories agreeing to absorb some of the cost, Fossa Apparel will bring the initially imposed additional 10% tariff down to a “more palatable amount,” Chen says. While chances are that the firm will make less money per unit sold, the goal is to offset that loss with more overall sales by being a reliable partner to distributors during this trying time.

“Bottom line is we want our customers to do well,” Chen says. “We’re in the service industry, so we’re going to do whatever we can to keep our customers in the best position to purchase from us and be able to use us to better their business. Our hope is that as the tariffs settle in and go on for a while, people will have a better idea of the impact on their bottom line and purchases will pick back up again.”

Can Domestic Manufacturing Support The Industry?

While most economists believe that tariffs are bad for the United States, it’s possible that Trump’s reciprocal tariff threat could influence other countries to lower their own import taxes.

“It could be win-win,” Christine McDaniel, a former U.S. trade official now at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, told The Associated Press. “It’s in other countries’ interests to reduce those tariffs,” said McDaniel, adding that India has already cut tariffs on certain items and agreed to ramp up purchases of U.S. energy after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently met with Trump.

Of course, another benefit that Trump is hoping to achieve with all these tariffs is a renewed push for Made-in-USA products. While that remains to be seen, nearly half (46%) of PPAI 100 suppliers and distributors plan to focus on domestic sourcing in 2025, driven by the benefits of reduced shipping times and supply chain resilience, according to PPAI Research.

RELATED: Made-In-USA Suppliers Poised To Capitalize On Potential Tariffs

“I get that the administration is trying to increase domestic manufacturing,” Chen says, “but for something like apparel production, it’s not really possible to bring it back to the United States at least in the short term because the technical know-how in the labor force isn’t there.”

Chen and his leadership team, like those across the promotional products industry, simply must wait and see what happens next in this rapidly developing situation. The only thing that’s for certain, he says, is the impact tariffs will have on end users.    

“It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out, but it’s going to hurt the consumer the most,” Chen says. “We just went through a period of high inflation and barely just got it under control, so I’m sure people’s tolerance for high inflation again is pretty low. That’s something the administration will have to manage.”

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