US President Donald Trump’s “bold” (read: insane) plan to bring manufacturing back to the US by slapping other countries with huge tariffs has hit a few snags. After tanking world markets and sparking a trade war with China, Trump pulled back on most of the tariffs.
However, the unpredictability is leading many businesses to curtail shipments to the US. One company’s announcement indicates that American otaku – fans of Japanese pop culture – may be hard hit by the chaos.
No new US pre-orders, delayed shipments
Good Smile USA is the American arm of the Japanese hobby retailer, which primarily sells plastic model figures based on popular manga and anime characters. The company published an announcement on its US Instagram account yesterday, April 24th, saying it would “temporarily pause all new pre-orders on GoodsmileUS.com.”
The company further said it would delay “shipments of products entering the United States until further notice.”
“If any of your existing pre-orders are delayed beyond their expected release timelines, we will contact you directly with more details and available options,” the statement continued.
In a statement on April 23rd, Good Smile USA had said that prices on US items might be higher due to Trump’s tariffs on China. Some of the company’s products are manufactured in China. Trump’s suspension of the De Minimis exemption, which exempts goods under $800 from import duties, could lead to higher prices, it wrote.
The announcement was met with mourning in the comments, as well as disdain for the US president.
“my miku plushie is now being detained in a camp, thanks don,” one user wrote.
“To the male gooners who voted for Trump, this is what you voted for, no waifus for you,” another wrote.
Not everyone is upset that Good Smile is suffering economic malaise. In 2023, Wired reported that Good Smile helped finance Japanese right-winger Nishimura Hiroyuki’s purchase of the online message board 4chan.
The company had hidden its role in the site, which was a nexus for the global right and a cesspit of hate. Hackers took 4chan offline earlier this week. Good Smile has since insisted that it has ended its relationship with the controversial message board.
The decision by a major retailer of Japanese pop culture goods, however, is just one bit of bad news for overseas manga and anime fans. Other retailers, like USA Gundam Store, report that Japanese sellers such as Kotobukiya and Bandai’s Tamashii Nations Collectibles are following suit, pausing or holding shipments until the tariff situation settles down.
Will the Apocalypse come to pass?
The tariff chaos is also impacting Japan in other ways. Mainichi Shimbun reports that Japanese food and beverage companies fear a weakening of exports just as exports of goods such as soy sauce and sake are expanding.
The tariff situation may also complicate Japan’s plans to lower the domestic cost of rice. Japan has started importing more rice from South Korea and the US to offset last year’s poor crop. The country, according to Nikkei, is weighing a plan to take advantage of Minimum Access laws to purchase up to 70,000 tons of rice from the US. However, that could change overnight if Trump wakes up one morning and decides the Minimum Access rules are “unfair.”
Companies like Good Smile and Kotobukiya seem to be holding out hope that Trump will reverse his planned tariffs on goods from China. The US President has already reversed most of the “reciprocal tariffs” he imposed against countries such as Japan. He has left in place a minimum 10% tariff on all imports.
There are already signs that Trump may be caving. Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo noted that the White House is stating it’s in talks with China over tariffs—a statement that Chinese officials quickly denied. Marshall says it’s one of several signs the US President may blink in his stand-off with the world’s manufacturing hub.
US otaku will surely be on their hands and knees praying that the tariff war settles down soon. At this rate, it’ll be cheaper to fly to Japan and come home with a couple of packed suitcases.
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Sources
Instagram post. Good Smile Company USA
How a Major Toy Company Kept 4chan Online. Wired Magazine
4chan Is Dead. Its Toxic Legacy Is Everywhere. Wired Magazine
US Tariff Updates and Discussion. My Figure Collection
Notice Regarding Orders Bound for U.S. Territories. Good Smile USA
Wall Street ends higher on earnings, hopes of easing tariff tensions. Reuters
Trump Asks ‘How High?’ After Xi Tells Him to Jump. Talking Points Memo (gift link)
Trump tariffs hit Japanese food, beverage industries hard just as exports begin to expand. Mainichi Shimbun
コメの無関税輸入枠、米国向け設定検討 政府内に7万トン案浮上. Nikkei
