A simmering trade war with China could have an impact on a Madison summer tradition.
The city’s July 3 fireworks show at Dublin Park depends – like countless pyrotechnic events nationwide to mark Independence Day – on materials produced almost entirely in China.
This week, Madison contracted with Adamsville-based Pyro Shows of Alabama for the annual fireworks show, at a cost of $16,000. A clause in the contract notes the company’s pyrotechnics are imported products, so if tariffs were to raise the price, Madison is to either pay the extra or stick to the budgeted amount, “with a corresponding reduction in the amount of product included in its show.”
So higher tariffs would equal fewer booms – or a more expensive show – this year.
The concern has been building in the fireworks industry since before President Donald Trump’s election, when he vowed to raise tariffs on most imports, with particular emphasis on products from China. That country makes most of the world’s fireworks supply. The U.S. recently imposed tariffs of over 100% on most Chinese goods.
That fueled worries about costs and availability that go far beyond Madison, according to the head of a top fireworks trade group.
“The uncertainty and volatility around these tariffs have had a crippling effect on manufacturing and production planning,” said Stacy Schneitter Blake, president of the National Fireworks Association.
That has led many Chinese factories to pause or stop production, she said.
“As a result, product availability for this summer’s Independence Day celebrations is extremely limited — not because of demand, but because we couldn’t manufacture or ship products into the U.S. under such unstable conditions,” Schneitter Blake said.
She said fireworks cannot be made to scale in the U.S., and there is no other global source for pyrotechnics, particularly for those designed for household celebrations.
Madison’s contract calls for a show this year with the same quantity of fireworks – 595 shells, ranging from 3 to 5 inches -- as last year, when the cost was $14,999.
Recent trade moves might ease concerns about Madison’s July 3 show. This week, Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily reduce tariffs from 145% to 30%, a move that Schneitter Blake welcomed. She said the NFA is pressing the Trump administration for a permanent exemption from all tariffs.
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