In the wake of President Trump's declaration of a National Emergency to increase America's "competitive edge," board game industry veterans have taken to the internet to air concerns around quickly rising import tariffs. In particular, when it comes to those connected to China – where the majority of board game publishers source manufacturing. The bottom line? Things aren't looking great for any board game companies looking to try their hand at making one of the best board games, especially those currently reliant on China for their manufacturing.
Recent changes to US import affairs mean that goods imported from China face a 54% tariff, though with Trumps most recent threats we could see that number rising to 104% in the very near future. Compared to the initial 10% extra for Chinese goods imposed at the start of Trump's second term, this represents a massive increase in a short amount of time. For board game publishers part-way through a print run (particularly smaller businesses and indie companies who are already working on "razor-thin" margins), that's going to hurt.
