On February 10, 2025, President Trump signed orders imposing 25-percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports — two raw materials that are commonly used to manufacture guns — in a move echoing one from his previous term. The White House confirmed that there would be “no exclusions” as well.
The announcement comes after the Trump administration announced 10-percent tariffs on all imports from China, and 25-percent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican imports, though the latter tariffs were delayed.
This could be a harbinger of bad news for those seeking to purchase firearms and for the firearms industry. Taken together or individually, Trump’s tariffs could place significant pressure on the gun industry, raising prices for guns and related accessories at a time when gun sales are already falling and inflationary pressures are squeezing consumers.
Steel and aluminum
Virtually all firearms today use steel components, including barrels and springs. The vast majority of pistols use steel slides as well, and many firearms have steel frames or receivers, in addition to smaller parts that are made of steel to withstand the combustion forces of firing high-pressure ammunition.
Canada and Mexico are two of the top sources of steel imported into the U.S., representing 24 and 15 percent of all steel imports in 2023, respectively. Just over 2 percent of steel imports came from China that year.
Aluminum is another metal common in firearms — making up pistol frames, rifle and shotgun receivers, handguards, and other components. AR-15-style weapons, in particular, use aluminum for a number of components.
The U.S. imports roughly half of its aluminum, and Canada is once again the top supplier in this regard while China is in a distant third place.
If implemented over an extended period of time, gun makers will likely be forced to pay higher prices for imported steel and aluminum, which could trickle down to gun buyers. But even companies that use domestically sourced raw materials could be affected by increased demand. For example, in 2018, Ruger’s then-CEO Chris Killoy explained how steel tariffs, imposed during the first Trump administration, impacted his company. During an investor call, Killoy said that the “tariffs have made domestic steel more attractive, so demand has risen tremendously recently as manufacturers who had been getting their steel from overseas look to find domestic sources. This has led to some price increases and some shortages of raw materials.”
In a more recent earnings call, Killoy said that the difficulty of finding affordable steel and aluminum “negatively impacts profitability or impacts the price of the firearm going out the door.”
imported firearms and accessories
Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico would have a modest direct impact on firearms imported into the U.S. from those countries. In 2020, just over 236,000 and 217,000 firearms were imported into the U.S. from Canada and China, respectively, collectively representing just 2 percent of all firearms imported and domestically manufactured that year. Mexico does not manufacture any firearms domestically for civilian sales.
Of these countries, China is the only significant producer of firearm-related parts and accessories. Many firearm optics today are made in China by companies like Holosun, for example, which could be affected by Trump’s tariffs.
In 2019, during the U.S.-China trade dispute, James Debney, the CEO of American Outdoor Brands, the parent company of Smith & Wesson, said that tariffs had raised prices on hunting and fishing accessories made in China. In a call with investors, Debney said, “As the tariff situation continues to escalate, opportunities to offset that impact have begun to rapidly diminish. Our supply chain in China is relatively sophisticated compared to those available in other low-cost countries, so rapid change takes time.”
At the time, American Outdoor Brands warned investors that it would take a $5 million hit to its earnings in the second half of that fiscal year due to the impact of the tariffs. (Smith & Wesson was later spun off as its own separate company in 2020.)
Of course, countries targeted by tariffs will likely respond by imposing their own tariffs on U.S. exports — possibly including firearms. American gun makers exported 629,163 firearms in 2022, a 37-percent increase compared to 458,684 firearms in 2021. The gun industry could also face additional pressure if Trump targets more countries with tariffs — like the European Union, where many firearms and related components are made — or raw materials.