“We will no longer be able to absorb those costs”: US/Canada trade war spells more bad news for guitarists who love digital effects

As the trade war escalates between the US and Canada, with the Trump administration applying a 50 percent tariff on selected goods imported from Canada, there will be some knock-on effects on prices paid by American consumers.

If you’re buying potash, salmon, and critical minerals from Canada, shop as usual. The 50 percent Section 338 tariffs do not affect you. If you’re buying, say, cars and aluminum, there’s no change – these are already covered. But say you are in the market for a guitar effects pedal from north of the border – or indeed an electric guitar or tube amp – then you might be in for a shock.

Empress Effects is the first of the high-profile Canadian gear brands to break cover and warn customers that from August 5, “tariffs, duties, or import fees” will be the responsibility of the customer.

This does not mean that, if you were to buy a ZOIA modular synth pedal for $549 from the Empress website, you would automatically be paying 50 percent on top of that (around $823, not including any local taxes etc), but that the US Customs department will calculate whatever duties are payable on the imported value of the item – and then those duties will be payable to your courier.

Of course, many retailers across the US will already have some of the Empress catalog in stock, so it might take some time for these costs to filter through, and in that time the tariffs could be paused or cancelled altogether. This is, however, another example of how the market for guitar gear is vulnerable to externalities such as this.

Steve Bragg, owner and designer at Empress Effects, says until now the company has been able to absorb the cost of tariffs, but not any longer.

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“Because shipments can take up to two weeks to reach and clear the U.S. border, orders placed on or after August 5 may be subject to the new tariffs,” he writes. “Beginning August 5, any applicable tariffs, duties, or import fees will therefore be the responsibility of the customer.

“We’re hopeful that a resolution will be reached quickly. Until then, we’ll continue to cover all applicable tariffs on orders shipped to the United States before August 5.”

It will not just be Empress Effects that will be facing these difficult decisions. Revv Amplification, Godin, and other Canadian gear brands will be figuring out how all of this shakes out financially.

The economic rationale behind the tariff is that it will encourage US consumers to buy a rival domestic product, or for a domestic manufacturer to make one. Good luck in finding an alternative to the ZOIA.