Australia’s Blackmagic Design Sees Price Increase Inevitable After US Tariff Hikes

Blackmagic Design, an Australian digital cinematography camera company that had planned to build a factory in the United States, said tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration would drive up prices despite locating production in the US.

Image source: Blackmagic Design

«”We had planned to build a new factory in Dallas, Texas, to streamline our supply chain and work directly with American semiconductor companies,” Blackmagic Design spokesman Patrick Hussey told The Verge. He said the tariffs and confusion complicated the situation. The chips and components used in Blackmagic cameras are supplied by American companies, but they import them from abroad. Even if production were to move to the U.S., import duties would impact costs, negating any savings expected from the move, Hussey said.

That’s the situation facing companies in the U.S. and abroad that work with global suppliers. Donald Trump has argued that tariffs will encourage companies to move production to the U.S. to stay competitive, but if companies use foreign equipment or materials in their supply chains, they could still face huge import tariffs, directly or indirectly, The Verge noted, adding that the cost of doing business would also rise as fees fluctuate wildly from day to day.

According to a CNBC supply chain survey, 61 percent of respondents would find it more financially beneficial to move from high-tariff countries to low-tariff countries instead of the U.S., and 81 percent of companies said they would automate production instead of hiring people if they moved to the U.S., even though Trump has promised job growth. In addition, 61 percent of companies surveyed warned that they would raise prices on products coming in with new tariffs.

Blackmagic Design has raised the price of all its products shipped to the U.S. “It was inevitable that prices would go up in the U.S. because of the new tariffs,” Hussey says. He says the company has moved camera production to its factories in several countries to soften the price hit and now plans to “wait a few months” to see if its supply chain for the components it needs moves to the U.S.