Worst case tariffs announced Wednesday afternoon will impose major cost increases on imported products in many geek culture categories, including board and miniature games, and merch [April 7: corrected to remove books from this list; those goods are exempt. - ed.]
The breadth of countries affected means that the costs of almost all imported goods will go up, with especially high import taxes on goods from Asian countries, including China (34% in new tariffs, bringing the total to 54%), Japan (24% in new tariffs), South Korea (25% in new tariffs), and Vietnam (where toy and merch companies have been fleeing to avoid new tariffs on China, 46% in new tariffs). A 20% import tax will be applied to imports from the EU.
While the past two months were already a period of high uncertainty due to on-again, off-again tariff announcements, the stakes have now been raised, with the new tariffs higher than any previously announced and correspondingly higher impacts. Publishers and collectible companies are going to be making high-stakes decisions about how to react in a situation that has likely not stopped evolving, with the potential for delays, reductions, or even increases based on retaliatory actions taken by other countries.
The downstream impacts on distributors, retailers, and consumers will follow. Buckle up.

Affect Imports from China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the EU, and Dozens of Others
Posted by Milton Griepp on April 3, 2025 @ 3:06 am CT

MORE COMICS
Plus: Middle-Grade Peach-Pit, New Titles from Creators of 'That Wolf-Boy Is Mine,' 'Otomen'
July 10, 2025
Other newly announced shojo titles include a middle-grade series by Peach-Pit and new series by the creators of That Wolf-Boy Is Mine and Otomen.
Day and Date with Print Release
July 10, 2025
GlobalComix is now offering IDW Publishing titles day and date with print release.
MORE NEWS
Robot-fighting Card Game by DV Games
July 10, 2025
DV Games will release Rumblebots , a new card game, into retail.
Former Chairman and CEO of Hasbro
July 10, 2025
Former Chairman and CEO of Hasbro Alan Hassenfeld has passed away on July 8, 2025.