Many asked about tariffs . . . .

[vetteguy53081]

Please let's not make this political but for awareness purposes only. As there was curiosity about tariffs, here is an update from Amazonian who publishes Coral Magazine:

New U.S. Import Tariffs on Fishes and Corals​

by CORAL Magazine | Apr 3, 2025 | Marine, News & Notes | 1 comment

Today, the sales staff at Emark Tropical Imports, a tropical fish importer and trans-shipper, emailed customers outlining the anticipated impact of President Trump’s new import tariffs on the aquarium fish and coral trade. Emark has authorized CORAL and AMAZONAS to share their update with our readers. If you’ve been on the fence about a new fish or coral purchase, depending on where it comes from, now may be the time to buy before the impact of these taxes make their way to retail pricing.
With most tariffs planned to go into effect starting April 9th, 2025, corals and fishes imported to the U.S. for the aquarium hobby will be subjected to additional 10 to 54 percent tariffs. As a result, any aquarium life not produced within the U.S. for the aquarium trade will see a price increase. Given how aquarium fish are priced on the retail market, effectively reflecting “market pricing” with a markup that is usually formulaic, we see no reason to believe these tariffs will not be directly carried up the chain to the aquarist in the end.
Emark notes that the tariffs exclude freight, an important detail that may temper the impact a bit. The result could be that, for example, a 32 percent tariff on a coral out of Indonesia or Fiji won’t translate directly into a 32 percent price increase at the final retail market price. However, prices will likely rise substantially nevertheless. More expensive livestock, where shipping costs are a smaller percentage of the overall landed price, will see substantially larger price increases in the end, all else equal.

The full email from Emark is included below.
via Emark Tropical Imports
Dear Valued Customers,
The tariffs that President Trump put into place yesterday will impact our industry by making the importation of ornamental fish, coral, and plants more expensive. For most countries we import from, most of the fish’s landed cost is freight. Thankfully, the freight won’t be subject to tariffs; the tariffs will only apply to the overseas cost of the animal.
All of this weekend’s shipments and our shipments from Israel and the Czech Republic will be subject to the new baseline 10% tariff on the cost of the animals or plants. We will add a new line item on our invoices labeled “tariff”.
Beginning with shipments on or after April 9, the tariff rate will vary depending on the country of origin. We put together a tariff schedule for all countries we import from below:

Country	Tariff %
Australia	10%
Brazil	10%
China	54%
Colombia	10%
Czech Republic	20%
Dominican Republic	10%
Fiji	32%
Ghana	10%
Haiti	10%
India	27%
Indonesia	32%
Israel	17%
Japan	24%
Kenya	10%
Mauritius	40%
Peru	10%
Philippines	17%
Singapore	10%
Solomon Islands	10%
Sri Lanka	44%
Taiwan	32%
Thailand	36%
Trinidad	10%
Vietnam	46%

If tariff rates for countries are increased or decreased going forward, we will adjust the percentage appropriately.

 

[Tamberav]

Ya I keep thinking if I need to buy anything before current inventory runs out and prices go up

Like some spare heaters and pumps perhaps.

 

[LiquidSpace]

Hawaii…you know what would make you a lot of money?

 

[fish_collector]

I’m not too concerned about it, fish and corals are expensive as it is so what’s another $20 going to matter if I go to my LFS and buy a fish.

And I’m just going to say it and not sugar coat it, if an additional $20 is a decision maker (sure it could be more) then perhaps the salt water hobby isn’t in your budget to begin with. Food, clothing, transportation, health coverage and rent/mortgage are all higher on the totem pole. But with that said I hope everyone finds a way to work with what’s been handed to us

 

[VintageReefer]

I’m not too concerned about it, fish and corals are expensive as it is so what’s another $20 going to matter if I go to my LFS and buy a fish.

And I’m just going to say it and not sugar coat it, if an additional $20 is a decision maker (sure it could be more) then perhaps the salt water hobby isn’t in your budget to begin with. Food, clothing, transportation, health coverage and rent/mortgage are all higher on the totem pole. But with that said I hope everyone finds a way to work with what’s been handed to us

I didn’t join the hobby because it was cheap

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you everyone so far for acknowledging this and not making it a political issue/debate thus far

 

[Pistondog]

We will add a new line item on our invoices labeled “tariff

It'd be great to see that line item on everything.
Cars, clothes, food, tangs...

 

[AydenLincoln]

I’m curious to know what they are now and if it will affect every country in the world we get animals from including those not listed.

 

[crazyfishmom]

It will definitely price some people out of the hobby. While a difference of $20 for a fish may not, startup costs will be considerably higher than they are now. Upgrades will be as well. As a multi tank owner, I might double think adding a new tank if the total cost including accessories is $1500 versus $1000. It all adds up.

 

[Matt L]

I just hope that domestic suppliers won’t try to cash in by raising their prices to be more “competitive” with import pricing.

 

[Tamberav]

If costs rise and rise.. it does price people out... as the hobby shrinks, there is less innovation/advancement or products... hard to justify when the hobby gets too small.

Obviously LFS may suffer as they are already razor thin margins.

It is more impactful than just an extra $

 

[crazyfishmom]

I just hope that domestic suppliers won’t try to cash in by raising their prices to be more “competitive” with import pricing.

I have thought about this as well. My husband is in the car business and it seems at least his dealership is handling it differently. They’re providing more incentives for purchase despite not being as affected as other manufacturers. Making more sales for less profit still leads to profit in their eyes and they’re looking to position themselves as the cost friendly option to the consumer and already seeing positive returns on that. I’m hoping more industries will take that route.

 

[RockRash]

I just hope that domestic suppliers won’t try to cash in by raising their prices to be more “competitive” with import pricing.

Yep, I was just thinking that last night.

 

[IceNein]

I just hope that domestic suppliers won’t try to cash in by raising their prices to be more “competitive” with import pricing.

What "domestic suppliers?" The only domestic suppliers I can think of are aquaculture. Everything else is either going to be either foreign or made from electronics and parts that are foreign, and therefore subjected to tariffs. Even aquaculture places are going to be heavily reliant on goods sourced overseas.

Are there any products that are truly domestic, other than say TBS and Gulf Live Rocks?

 

[fish_collector]

 

[crazyfishmom]

I wonder where they source all of their components though.

 

[Matt L]

What "domestic suppliers?" The only domestic suppliers I can think of are aquaculture. Everything else is either going to be either foreign or made from electronics and parts that are foreign, and therefore subjected to tariffs. Even aquaculture places are going to be heavily reliant on goods sourced overseas.

Are there any products that are truly domestic, other than say TBS and Gulf Live Rocks?

Livestock is mostly what comes to mind, though some consumables are made in the US too. There is more than enough coral already in the States now to supply the industry, imo. People usually associate higher cost with higher quality, and domestic coral farms may raise prices to be seen as competitive to imports.

 

[fish_collector]

I may be wrong, but ive read even TBS uses rock from Walt Smith, which is from Fiji.

 

[GatorGreg]

Everyone mad at the current administration because their first world hobby is about to get a bit more expensive.

Totally ignoring the recent proposals coming from activists on the other side of the isle that would ELIMINATE the hobby altogether and essentially make it illegal. lol

Saving NEMO Act Reintroduced – Puts the Hobby and Tens of Thousands of Jobs in Jeopardy | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Last week Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii (brother of Suzanne Case, the Director of Hawaii BLNR when the Hawaii aquarium fishery was shut down) reintroduced the Saving NEMO Act, H.R. 2176 (https://www.congress.

reefbuilders.com

 

[JayM]

I would think that someone in the industry could be successful in removing tariffs for wild-caught livestock. The whole point of the tariffs is to bring manufacturing back to the US, and keep trade “fair” between countries. It’s not like the US can harvest and sell wild-caught animals that don’t exist in US waters. And if there’s a trade imbalance between the US and anyone else, it’s due to simply not being available here, and not anything nefarious or unfair.