30% Duty on Chinese Fireworks does not Deter 4 July Show

· Trump’s tariff bonanza threatens the U.S. industry, forcing importers to scour the world for cheaper fireworks because the levies are making those from China so expensive. Right now, the U.S. imposes a 30 percent tariff on Chinese imports, down from 145 percent a couple of months ago.

· In 2022 alone, Americans fired off more than 400 million pounds of fireworks, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association.

· Fireworks are highly regulated and dangerous to make, and China, where they were invented, has long been the only country with the skill and infrastructure to produce them at scale.

· Cambodia and Brazil, but those countries didn’t produce enough to satisfy the $2 billion U.S. market.

· But 2026’s Fourth of July is the bigger problem. That’s when the U.S. will celebrate its 250th birthday, and cities and towns across the country are planning to go all out to set the skies ablaze.

[ABS News Service/05.07.2025]

That’s because President Trump’s trade war could put a damper on future pyrotechnics. Virtually all of America’s fireworks supplies are imported from China, and the steep tariffs that Trump has slapped on all Chinese products are raising alarm across the industry.

In theory, American retailers could start making their own sparklers and fireworks. But that is not so easy. Fireworks are highly regulated and dangerous to make, and China, where they were invented, has long been the only country with the skill and infrastructure to produce them at scale.

Trump’s tariff bonanza threatens the U.S. industry, forcing importers to scour the world for cheaper fireworks because the levies are making those from China so expensive. Right now, the U.S. imposes a 30 percent tariff on Chinese imports, down from 145 percent a couple of months ago.

One importer told me he looked to Cambodia and Brazil, but those countries didn’t produce enough to satisfy the $2 billion U.S. market, which craves even more explosive shows every year. In 2022 alone, Americans fired off more than 400 million pounds of fireworks, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association.

This year’s Independence Day should be relatively unimpeded by the tariffs because retailers stock up in advance. But 2026’s Fourth of July is the bigger problem. That’s when the U.S. will celebrate its 250th birthday, and cities and towns across the country are planning to go all out to set the skies ablaze.

Trump has a well-known affinity for fireworks and grand displays of patriotic pageantry. Last month, he soaked in a performance of “America the Beautiful” as fireworks were launched over the night sky to conclude his military parade in Washington.

And during the first Trump administration, officials carved out an exception in the tariff rules for fireworks. But that hasn’t happened this time, and without that relief, fireworks lobbyists are warning that future shows might be shorter, less impressive and more expensive.

Despite the president’s affection for pyrotechnics, it appears that, for now, he loves tariffs even more.

“Real prosperity and patriotism isn’t celebrating the independence of our country with cheap foreign-made firecrackers and trinkets,” said Kush Desai, a White House spokesman. “It’s having a country with booming Main Streets, a thriving working class and robust manufacturing”.