Apogee add their voice to growing concern about tariffs on US imports
Last month we heard from Moog Music who were asking people to contact their representatives in light of President Trump’s new trade tariffs on electronics from China. They believed they would impact heavily on their manufacturing of synthesizers. These claims were also challenged by some other, smaller synth manufacturers who believed they would actually amount to very little and should have a negligible impact on US synthesizer manufacturing.
Tariffs
There’s been a lot of debate on both sides but now these tariffs have been enacted I guess the reality will start to kick in.
Apogee has now stepped up with their own concerns in support of Moog Music. They said that they take pride in manufacturing their products in the USA but all their components come from China. The 25% tax on imports from China will affect a large percentage of their material costs which will ultimately result in price rises to their customers.
Alternatively, Apogee says they may have to look to manufacture outside the USA.
The discussion around the Moog statement shows how important it is to consider other sides to any dramatic statement of price hikes or moving manufacturing. But this is the second well-respected audio company to speak out and raise concerns. Accusations of political manoeuvring seem to be wearing a little thin.
One of the comments that came up from the Moog discussion was that prices will inevitably rise because of the fear of the tariff rather than the reality of it. So whether the taxes apply to their components or not, we’re still going to feel them as suppliers add 25% onto everything.
If it’s something you feel strongly about then please do contact your elected representatives and voice your concerns. Otherwise, we’re going to have to wait and see.
More information
- Full Apogee statement here.
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5 responses to “Apogee add their voice to growing concern about tariffs on US imports”
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As someone with decades of experience in electronics I can tell you that Apogee’s claims are fraudulent. All high-quality components in PCB design that you’d ever need in the market Apogee competes in are readily available from Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, French, German, and Italian suppliers … and in the past from US suppliers until they all gave up. The only reason someone ever sourced PCB components from China instead of the above countries is to save 10 to 20 cents from every 100 USD (yes, you read that right) because that’s the actual price difference between a component Made in China vs. Made in Japan or Taiwan or Korea or France or Germany or Italy once you factor in faulty items, shipping costs, shipping times, turnaround times of replacements, paperwork, etc.
In other words, it’s pure greed and lack of decency that’s making these US companies choose Chinese components over components from non-Chinese suppliers. And if anything, these tariffs provide a moment of clarity to American buyers: companies like Apogeee shifting purchase orders to China, or moving manufacturing to China, for the sole purpose of increasing profits by 0.25%.
Absolutely correct. I was in the musical instrument business for almost a quarter of a century and still follow it closely and over the years I managed to be privy to much information regarding the actual costs of manufacture of guitars and amplifiers and what I learned regarding costs pretty much coincides with your statements. What is also interesting is that when companies started moving sourcing of both components and finished products to China they didn’t lower prices but in many cases raised them even though their costs went down.
Surly the biggest cost to someone like Moog or Apogee if they manufacture in the USA is labour?
Moog’s are expensive because they are built using unproductive methods and an expensive workforce, not because the are complex machines. Behringer just proved how little you could build a Moog for.
Do you think Behringer will provide the same service or quality as Moog? No way! Moog’s service department (and lifetime warranty) are second to none.
In the larger picture all the commerce of music instruments will be a gone or just replaced by anything. Look at the used market, instruments are selling way higher because new stuff is made poorly. it been a race down to the bottom line. even Guitar Center is going to close this year. Everything is suffering!