So what do President Donald Trump and Pokemon Collectors have to do with each other?
Tariffs.
It’s all about tariffs.
Trump and Gang have proposed 10%, 20% and even 60% tariffs on various occasions. Regardless of what percentage they finally land on the effect will be the same. Significantly higher prices for any Pokemon product that is not exclusively made inside the United States.
That means any product that the Pokemon Company decides to make will need to be majority United States product to not get hit with tariffs. So for example binder collections, the binder may very well be made in China and the Trump Administration may claim that it makes up a significant value of the binder collection as a whole and is therefore subject to 60% “China tariffs”… even if the Pokemon cards inside the collection were made inside the United States. That would be a “foreign content” estimate to determine where the product has actually originated from. The country and product as listed in the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule is the actual determiner of whether or not a product has a tariff.
Now Pokemon products made entirely inside the United States will be completely safe from Trump and Gang’s tariffs. And the Pokemon Company does in fact have US based manufacturing capacity. Millennium Print Group is a manufacturer of Pokemon product and is owned by the Pokemon Company International. They print cards out of a facility in North Carolina.
But I’m not actually sure of which product in the Pokemon Company’s lineup do not have significant foreign product in them. I’m guessing booster bundles and booster boxes would be safe from tariffs… But what do I know.
However Japanese product will be subject to at least 20% tariffs and there’s no way the Trump administration will make an exemption for toys and games on the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule. If Japan responds to Trump’s tariffs with tariffs of their own they may even end up with a 60% tariff in a tit for tat trade war. Meaning your $100 booster box of 151 will now cost AT LEAST $160.
Remember, countries do not pay tariffs… the consumer does.
And Korean and Chinese Pokemon products will also be subject to tariffs. The way the Trump administration talks there won’t be any real exceptions to these dang things. Tariffs for everyone and everything!
The American people love a dictator, but Pokemon collectors won’t.