Small American manufacturers are being strangled by the Trump administration's tariff regime, with one Ohio-based music equipment company reporting the policy has added a staggering 30% to its costs and forced it to cancel planned new hires.
Guitar Pedal Maker Feels the Pinch
EarthQuaker Devices, a boutique firm headquartered in Akron, Ohio, crafts handmade guitar pedals for global music stars including The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, and PJ Harvey. Its popular 'Plumes' model has sold over 67,000 units. However, the company's intricate products rely on more than 1,000 components, many sourced directly from China and Vietnam or from US distributors who import them.
Julie Robbins, of EarthQuaker, states the tariffs have made business unsustainable. "The tariffs are adding up to 30% to our costs. I would have at least a couple of new positions open now if it weren't for the tariffs," she reveals. The company has absorbed the entire extra cost until now, but Robbins says this is no longer financially possible.
She criticises the policy's fundamental goals as contradictory. "The tariffs are of no benefit to manufacturing in America. The stated goals were to reshore manufacturing, negotiate better trade terms and raise money for the US treasury. It's just not possible to do all those things simultaneously," Robbins argues, describing the situation as feeling like "gaslighting".
Broader Impact on Ohio's Industrial Heartland
The pain extends far beyond one company. The Cleveland-Youngstown-Akron region, once the backbone of US industry, is suffering anew. A recent report found that one in three manufacturing firms in northeast Ohio has been hit by tariff costs, with related losses of 16% nearly doubling any gains of 9%.
Jonathan Ernest, an assistant professor of economics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, explains a key problem: "Northeast Ohio producers are often reliant on inputs that are simply not being produced in vast quantities within the US... and likely will not be unless the price... increases substantially."
Despite the policy's aim to reshore jobs, a report by the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (Magnet) found only 9% of manufacturers have brought back more production from overseas this year. Furthermore, economic uncertainty has caused firms to scale back innovation, deferring R&D and product launches to stay afloat.
Adaptations and an Uncertain Future
Some businesses are seeking workarounds, such as using Foreign Trade Zones to defer duty payments. David Gutheil, chief operating officer at the Port of Cleveland, notes a busy year with FTZ activations, even as the port has seen a 15-20% cargo drop this year attributed to tariffs.
While the Magnet report indicates two-thirds of manufacturers still expect growth in 2026, the immediate burden on small firms is severe. At EarthQuaker, staff have been diverted from crafting pedals to managing complex financial forecasts to navigate the shifting tariff landscape.
Robbins highlights a cruel twist: a $50,000 state grant, contingent on hiring, is now being recalled partly due to tariff-driven economic pressures. "The only reason we do this is to have jobs. It's not cheaper or easier than doing anything else," she says, emphasising her team's dedication to their craft.
For a post-industrial city like Akron, which has lost 100,000 residents since the 1960s, the tariffs represent another major hurdle in a long fight for revival, putting community jobs at risk and casting a shadow over a region betting its future on manufacturing.
