Summary
Donald Trump’s tariffs have crippled the tabletop industry in the United States. Although proponents of the president’s protectionism are likely to suggest these companies switch manufacturing to the United States, according to industry experts, this isn’t possible.
Steve Jackson Games head Meredith Plackohas saiddomestic factories simply don’t have the “equipment, labour or timelines” to support full-scale board game production, regardless of the willingness of board-game publishers to move production to the United States.
Crippling Tariffs
With this in mind, several board-game developers have banded together to file a class-action against President Donald Trump. Thisnews emerged from a statementmade by Stonemaier Games, a prolific board-game publisher best known for Wingspan and its spin-offs, Wyrmspan and Finspan.
“We are joining a lawsuit that will challenge the unchecked authority of the executive branch to impose tariffs,” the statement reads. “We will not stand idly by while our livelihoods–and the livelihoods of thousands of small business owners and contractors in the US, along with the customers whose pursuit of happiness we hold dear–are treated like pawns in a political game.”
Stonemaier’s existing business partnerships are now being strained as the developer is required to pay an additional $14.50 for every $10 spent on Chinese manufacturing. For just Stonemaeir Games, a company of eight people, these tariffs would cost $1.5 million.
“I attempt to lead with compassion and empathy, so legal action is very low on my list of ways to handle difficult situations,” the statement continues. “But with this new norm of a 145 per cent tariff imposed by the President on all exports from China to the U.S., including products that have been in the manufacturing process for months, we are compelled to take action.”
In addition to the litigation, Stonemaier is paying for storage in China in the hope that the tariffs will decrease over time. To keep Finspan in stock at retail, Stonemaier will be eating the tariff cost of restocking this game to minimise the impact on “distributors, retailers and consumers.”
“We are fortunate to have a buffer at Stonemaier Games to weather this storm, and my heart goes out to the many other small businesses–in the US and beyond–who invested their resources in products that they can no longer afford to bring into the US,” the statement concludes.
Although Donald Trump has paused tariffs in excess of the 10 per cent global base rate, China was not included in this exemption.
