How Will The New Tariffs Affect Your Next Gun Purchase?

Which Firearms Manufacturers Are Affected By The New Tariffs?

According to the Executive Order signed by President Trump on April 2nd, 2025, new "reciprocal tariffs" will be levied against trade partners beginning on April 5th. The tariff percentage will vary from country to country and could be as low as 11% or as high as 50%.

Classic Summary

The firearms industry is not exempt from sweeping new tariffs introduced in April 2025. Customers will notice the impact of these tariffs in the coming weeks.

• Prices will increase immediately
• Many prominent brands affected
• Consider 100% U.S.-made brands

The European Union, the Philippines, Serbia, and Switzerland are among the countries affected. Merchandise already in the U.S. will not be affected, but anything imported after the tariffs go into effect will be subject to these tariffs. Complete firearms, parts kits, magazines, accessories, ammunition, and some manufacturing components will more than likely see price increases as a result.

Of course, some firearms brands are more vulnerable than others. Companies like Rock Island Armory and Zastava, who import most of their products for sale in the U.S., will almost certainly be forced to pass along increased costs to the consumer. 

Even companies with some of their manufacturing in the U.S. (like Beretta, Sig Sauer, Springfield, and Glock) are not immune from tariffs on their foreign-made imported models or component parts.

Implications For Firearms Manufacturing

Although many gun manufacturers have factories in the U.S., many of those factories do not have the scale or capacity to produce every model in the brand's catalogue at the rate needed to meet consumer demands. Common practice is to supplement domestic manufacturing with imports as needed. 

Firearms that are assembled from parts sourced abroad will also be affected by tariffs, as production costs will still go up despite most components being manufactured in the U.S.

How Tariffs Will Affect Our Customers

The impact on gun buyers will be felt almost immediately. Some manufacturers / importers have stated that they will maintain their set pricing on inventory that is already in the U.S. as long as their current stock lasts, only raising prices on new inventory that has yet to hit our shores. Others are discussing cost averaging existing in-stock inventory against future imports in order to roll out the higher pricing in stages. However, either approach will lead to price increases based on the additional cost of the tariff.

In addition, while it's true that brands with products made entirely in the U.S. will not be affected by these tariffs, that doesn't mean that consumers will not see a price increase there as well. Most domestic brands have subsisted on razor-thin profit margins due to the pressure of inexpensive competing products being imported into an incredibly soft gun market.

For those reasons, many within the industry are expecting U.S. manufacturers to use their foreign competition's forced price hikes as an opportunity to raise their prices as well. Prices are expected to go up across the board as early as this month, even encompassing entire product lines in some cases, for at least as long as these tariffs remain in effect.

So Should I Buy Now?

While we never want to seem like the boy who cried wolf, the answer appears to be yes. Now may well be the very best time to buy, and here is why: firearms and ammunition sales have been slow over the past several months, resulting in very low prices in many categories compared to years prior.

As a result, we've had a buyers' market recently, meaning it was (and still is, for the time being) a great time to buy. Regarding the tariffs, they are certainly real and will have real consequences in terms of raising prices as long as they are in effect.

So, with all of that being said, it may be wise to buy now, before these tariffs start affecting the entire market, particularly on items that have maintained or are close to their pre-April 5th price point.

Get The Best Bang For Your Buck

Between these new tariffs and rising inflation, many Americans are looking to get the best value for every dollar they spend. Watch our video below to learn about the best guns for the money in 2025!