Jewelry Industry Braces for Impact of Trump’s Trade War

By Rob Bates | March 05, 2025

President Trump slapped new tariffs on America’s three largest trading partners Tuesday, imposing a 25% levy on imports from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% duty on goods from China.

Trump reiterated his commitment to tariffs during last night’s address to Congress. “Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again,” he said. “And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly. There will be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.”

One Cabinet member, however, has suggested the tariffs might be scaled back.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick—who, prior to joining the government, was an investor in jewelry e-tailer Ritani—told Fox Business that Trump will “probably” announce compromise deals on the tariffs, perhaps as early as today.

Lutnick’s comments followed two straight days of stock market declines, which analysts attributed to fears of a trade war.

Jewelry industry representatives and manufacturers tell JCK they’re keeping a close eye on the situation.

“We’re concerned about sweeping tariffs like this, particularly involving exports from China,” says David Bonaparte, president and CEO of Jewelers of America. “The last thing we want is for consumers to pay for more for jewelry, especially in light of continued high inflation.

“Several manufacturers are already reaching out to us, saying their costs are going up 10%. But a lot of these things are out of our control. Let’s hope everyone quickly works out their differences and acts reasonably.”

Bonaparte adds that for the jewelry sector, “if they impose tariffs from India, that’s a much bigger deal.”

David Cochran, president and CEO of MJSA (Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America), believes the tariffs will immediately affect companies “on the fashion side who have operations in China.

“However, we’ve seen more businesses looking into transferring operations to this country, particularly after the strains on the supply chain caused by COVID, and this may accelerate that,” he says. “On the supply side, we’re looking at how the flow of diamonds from Canada might be affected—the natural diamond industry is already struggling with tight margins and the rise of lab-grown diamonds, and this will just add more pressure.”

Dave Meleski, president and CEO of jewelry manufacturer Richline, says, “I don’t see much, if any, impact on the Mexico and Canada situation, as very little product at all is produced for customers in those countries in the U.S. or vice versa.

“For China, there is some disruption as there are products that were produced there for import to the U.S. For Richline, that disruption is causing resourcing of products from our factory in China to other countries currently not affected in the tariff war.”

Meleski says he’s more concerned about “the daily volatility created by all this and its impact on metals markets. I would very much prefer some stability there, as the escalation in gold prices causes a slowdown in sales at consumer level as that price escalates.”

A jewelry manufacturer who did not wish to be identified tells JCK: “It’s all a little disconcerting. Importers from China will have to decide how much of the added 10% they’ll have to pass on. If you import from Canada and Mexico, you probably won’t have a choice but to add the extra costs. It will definitely make jewelry more expensive.… It feels like a big mess.”

The National Retail Federation (NRF), which has been a consistent critic of tariffs, warned they may cloud the economic outlook.

“Tariffs could be a drag on the economy and have adverse effects,” said NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz in a statement. “Although recent economic data remains strong, we are concerned about the downside risks.”

Canada, China, and Mexico have all announced plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States. Canada’s list of products now subject to a 25% levy includes several categories of jewelry (see categories 7113.11 through 7117.90).

“These tariffs only apply to goods originating from the U.S.,” said the Canadian government announcement. “These countermeasures are effective immediately and will remain in place until the U.S. eliminates its tariffs against Canada.”

According to business and finance news site Sherwood, Canada imported $328.2 million worth of jewelry from the U.S. in 2023.

“Businesses should be aware that exporting U.S. product to Canada may incur additional costs,” says Sara Yood, president and CEO of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee. “This situation is likely to continue to escalate, as the Trump administration has indicated that tariffs and trade will be a major focus.… We encourage business leaders to speak to their congressional representatives to provide feedback on the business impact of these tariffs.”

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has called Trump’s tariffs “very dumb.”

In announcing the retaliatory tariffs, Trudeau said, “We will not back down from a fight, not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake.”

The Chinese embassy in the U.S. wrote on X: “If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

(Photo: Getty Images)