I was looking into buying some gear for my studio recently, and I noticed that many manufacturers were excluding the United States from their Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Pricing. For example, while Behringer suggests that their 676 preamp/compressor should cost $469, they also offer the caveat that their recommended price does not apply to the US market.

If I had to guess, the exclusion is a result of tariffs that the United States is imposing on other countries–in this case, China, where Behringer is based. Tariffs on Chinese imports had risen to 145% in April but came down to 30% in May. The MSRP on Behringer’s 676 is $469. 30% of that is about $140. Add that to the MSRP, and we get $609. Which is in the ballpark of what retailers are charging for the unit in the United States.

Anecdotally, I also had to order a pair of metal brackets to attach a piece of equipment to my rack. Normally, I could just place an order through the parts division of the company that makes the equipment, and they’d ship it to me immediately. This time around, though, they informed me that they had run out of the brackets and had no idea when they’d be available from their supplier, which is based in Japan. When I asked if this uncertainty was because of the tariffs, they told me it was.

The sitting President of the United States has repeatedly described tariffs as a tax on other countries. This is clearly not the case, and while the issues I’ve run into as a musician are incredibly minor, they point to a larger problem. Yes, the tariffs are “bringing in” billions of dollars, but they’re not bringing those dollars in from foreign countries. They’re quietly siphoning those dollars out of the wallets of American consumers whether they know it or not.