April 9, 2025
Lighting Industry Rattled as U.S.-China Tariffs Hit 104%
For many lighting companies, there are no easy answers, only more expensive ones.
The new tariffs took effect at midnight last night, but most of the lighting industry had already been bracing for impact. And still, the blow landed hard.
With the U.S. now imposing a 104% combined tariff on Chinese goods, the trade war that’s been simmering for years has entered uncharted territory. For lighting manufacturers, many of whom depend on Chinese factories for critical components and finished goods, the reality is sinking in: the cost structure has changed again, and no one knows how long the new math will last.
After China announced a 34% retaliatory tariff to mirror the U.S.'s recent hike, President Trump raised the stakes—threatening an additional 50% tariff unless Beijing backed down. He made it official Monday on Truth Social. The White House confirmed the move late Tuesday. By 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the new U.S. rates were in effect.
[UPDATED] Hours later, China responded in kind — and then some — announcing it would boost its tariffs to a total of 84% starting Thursday. The message was clear: Beijing had no intention of blinking.
Can Lighting Untangle from China? Should it?
It’s tempting to imagine this moment as a breaking point — when manufacturers start pulling up stakes and relocating en masse. But the truth is murkier.
Yes, prices are rising. But for much of the lighting industry, China remains among the fastest, most efficient, and — despite tariffs — cheapest sources for LED chips, drivers, and a wide range of low- to mid-tier fixtures.
It’s not just about labor costs. It’s about tooling, engineering, scale. China has a manufacturing ecosystem that took decades to build. That doesn’t just get replaced with a new vendor in Vietnam or a facility in Juárez.
The eye-popping 104% U.S.–China tariff may dominate headlines, but lighting companies looking elsewhere aren’t necessarily finding relief. The United States is now imposing steep tariffs on several emerging manufacturing hubs: 46% on Vietnam, 49% on Cambodia, 26% on India, and 24% on Malaysia — all effective April 9, 2025.
Still, some companies are indeed exploring alternative countries. But relocating manufacturing lines requires capital, time, and trust. And with trade policy as unpredictable as it’s been, many are reluctant to bet big on any one direction.
Lighting in Limbo
The result is a kind of strategic paralysis. Manufacturers are revising quotes, and issuing new price sheets. Some distributors are pausing large buys, while others are stockpiling goods. Developers are quietly hitting “pause” on scheduled projects. And importers, especially those reliant on high-volume finished goods from China, are trying to calculate how much cost they can pass through and still remain competitive.
One U.S. lighting brand CEO told Inside Lighting yesterday that a $100,000 container of fixtures that’s currently on the water will now cost over $200,000.
That sentiment echoes across the industry: even companies with partial U.S. or North American assembly are discovering that exposure to Chinese components — optics, boards, chips, steel, housings — is nearly impossible to avoid.
The Myth of “Made in America”
It’s worth stating clearly: no one is bringing LED light bulb manufacturing back to the U.S. Not at scale. Not competitively. Not in 2025.
The same goes for commodity 2-cent LEDs, $3 drivers, $9 downlights, $19 LED flat panels, and $59 UFO high bays. The infrastructure to produce these at volume — cheaply, and quickly — exists in China. Not Chattanooga.
So when tariffs spike like this, it’s less about reshoring and more about recalculating. Can the supply chain absorb a 20% hit? A 50% one? At what point does the pain outweigh the convenience, even for high-efficiency Chinese production?
And even if a company decides to diversify, where do they go? Vietnam and India are on the radar, but also increasingly in the tariff crosshairs. Mexico offers proximity and USMCA compliance — but not without complexity, cost, and long transition lead times.
Dave Chappelle joked this week about Americans, “We want to wear Nikes, not make them.” It’s a punchline, but also a supply chain reality. And that sentiment holds true, especially when American labor wants the paycheck, not the line work.
A Wild Start to 2025 — and No Calm in Sight
The industry began this year with a degree of cautious optimism. Supply chains were stabilizing. Freight costs were falling. A sense of normalcy was beginning to return.
Then came February’s steel and aluminum tariffs. March’s saber-rattling over Mexico and Canada. And now, April’s nuclear escalation with China.
As of this morning, the new tariffs are live, the invoices are swelling, and the clock is ticking. But how long will this last — six months? Six weeks? Six days?
That’s the question paralyzing boardrooms across the lighting industry. Because moving too fast is risky. But so is waiting too long. Some are hedging. Some are hurrying. Most are watching the horizon, hoping for signs of stability that haven’t arrived.
In the meantime, deals are delayed, prices are in flux, and the only thing moving faster than air freight from Shenzhen is the industry’s rising anxiety.
