The US bicycle industry’s trade association, PeopleForBikes, says Trump’s tariffs will have “devastating impacts” on the industry if they aren’t adjusted in the short term, in an open letter addressed to the President.
PeopleForBikes represents more than 340 US manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of cycling products. Published this week, the open letter requests tariff relief or an exclusion process for bicycles and bicycle equipment.
“The current tariffs on complete bicycles and components used for assembly, imported from countries around the globe, will have devastating impacts on our industry if not adjusted in the near term. We are hearing concerns around additional layoffs and the risk of more companies closing their operations, including some of our few remaining domestic manufacturers,” the letter reads.
The tariffs announced by Donald Trump in early April have already begun to cause chaos in the cycling industry. Specialized and Trek have hiked prices in the US, while other brands have cancelled shipments, and Silca even described launching a product in the US as “not viable”.
While Trump has said his tariffs will boost US industry, PeopleForBikes warns that difficulties persist in moving the supply chain.
“[E]ach bicycle may have 200 or more component parts that are still primarily sourced from sub-suppliers in foreign countries,” PeopleForBikes explains. “Developing a domestic manufacturing base for this wide variety of components will take substantial time and capital investment at a time when capital is hard to come by and cash flow is tight. Even without new, additional tariffs, our industry was already projecting a 3.7% decrease in sales, driven by higher aggregate price levels and weaker consumer confidence.”
The trade association says that while the USA once made all the bicycles it needed domestically, this has not been the case for several decades. The letter says that since the mid-1990s, low-cost imports from China have threatened American companies, and that a combination of “unfair foreign competition and unwise U.S. trade policy” led to the closure of bicycle factories in the country.
According to a 2021 study, 87 per cent of bikes imported to the US are from China.
PeopleForBikes says it appreciates President Trump’s “focus on China’s competitive threat” and closing of the de minimis loophole, which eliminates the duty-free import of low-value commodities “which has undermined the U.S. bicycle industry and local bike retailers across America for many years”.
The letter also outlines how US manufacturers are facing increased steel and aluminium prices from foreign and domestic sources, while the lack of domestic textile manufacturing could put cycling clothing manufacturers out of business.
Current and proposed tariffs on bicycle helmets is another issue the letter, sent on 29 April, raises. It says these tariffs “make buying this essential and legally required safety equipment much less affordable” and could leave cyclists without protection.
“The bicycle industry has enriched American lives for more than a century,” says PeopleForBikes president and CEO Jenn Dice. “We urge the administration to give our businesses the runway they need to compete globally, invest domestically, and keep biking safe, affordable, and accessible for everyone.”
