How Trump’s Tariff Chaos Impacts Small American Photo Companies

President Trump’s tariffs are having a significant impact on the photography industry. Heavy hitters like Leica have raised prices in the U.S. (and Canada), and Canon Inc. confirmed prices will increase on some of its products in response to tariffs, to name just a couple of examples. However, the exceptionally high (as much as 145 percent) tariffs on imports from China are having an extensive, unpredictable impact, even on companies that make their products in the United States, like Clever Supply Co.

Clever Supply Co.’s founder and owner, Todd Balsley, recently took to Threads to detail how tariffs impact his company. His easy-to-digest posts explain how the tariffs impact nearly every aspect of the business. While Clever Supply Co. handcrafts its acclaimed camera straps in its Louisville, Kentucky workshop, the company sources some of its materials from aboard — a common practice for many companies, small and large alike. It’s a global economy, after all.

Tariff Uncertainties Complicate Running a Business

“Tariffs have made everything more complicated — not just more expensive, but more uncertain,” Balsley tells PetaPixel.

“Even though we make our camera straps in the U.S., we still rely on globally sourced components — buckles, rivets, split rings, even the Peak Design hardware we use is all manufactured overseas, mostly in China. Same goes for our packaging. When tariffs hit those items, they hit us,” he continues.

To brace for the impact of the tariffs, which, although rolled out chaotically, were at least partially signaled by President Trump before they went into effect, Clever Supply Co. stocked up on as much hardware and packaging as it could. However, it’s not possible to stockpile all required materials forever. At some point, the stockpile runs out, and when it does, replacing the materials could double Clever Supply’s manufacturing costs.

“A 125% markup is not feasible to pass on to the customer,” Balsley explains. “For a lot of small brands, that could be trouble.”

While the higher prices are a problem, for obvious reasons, the uncertainty is similarly challenging to deal with.

“We had big plans for our camera bag line — two successful Kickstarter campaigns gave us momentum, and we were gearing up to launch new designs,” Balsley tells PetaPixel. “But we’ve had to pause both development of a new prototype and production of a finished bag that’s already market-ready. That’s incredibly frustrating.”

Balsley explains that his company paid around $3,500 in duties to restock one of its bags for this spring. If that same shipment arrived “just a few weeks later, in early April, it would’ve cost us nearly $19,700 in tariffs alone — not including shipping.”

“We simply can’t absorb that.”

Clever Supply Co. could pay those tariffs and then increase the prices of their goods in turn, as some companies will do (and then some). However, Clever Supply Co. won’t do it. It would put the company’s products out of reach of its customers.

“So no, tariffs don’t feel like protection. They make me feel a bit stuck,” Balsley says.

Big Tariff Bills for Other Brands

Some companies have received even bigger tariff bills, like smart home camera brand Wyze, which posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it paid $255,000 in tariffs on a $167,000 order of imported floodlights.

Most companies can’t deal with this and cannot simply pass the cost to the customer. For example, Chinese astro camera company QHYCCD has paused shipments to the United States due to tariffs, as DPReview reported last week.

An Uncertain Business Future

While Balsley understands what the administration is trying to do and admits it could be effective in limited situations for certain industries, he is not sure it will do much but harm some businesses, including his own.

Tariffs could make Chinese knock-off camera straps more expensive and more in line with Clever Supply Co.’s handmade, high-quality offerings, which Balsley calls a “hypothetical silver lining.” Nonetheless, he is not optimistic that the tariff situation will work in Clever Supply Co.’s favor.

“Honestly, I doubt it,” he says.

While Clever Supply Co. can weather the storm, at least for now, and is in a position to investigate alternative options, including meeting with U.S.-based factories to see what components it can source locally moving forward, not every company is so lucky. When asked if he could have started Clever Supply Co. right now, with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs, Balsley says it would have at least been much harder without unfettered access to global supply chains.

“We’ve been fortunate to source most of our leather from U.S. tanneries that use hides from American cattle — a byproduct of the meat industry. So for our camera strap business, which is made in-house here in Louisville, it might’ve still been possible to start. But even then, we rely on globally manufactured components like hardware and packaging,” he explains.

As for the company’s bag line, “that would have been incredibly difficult to launch in the current trade environment.”

The company has some things going for it, including making all its camera straps in Kentucky and manufacturing them in a flexible made-to-order style, which shows just how destructive tariffs can be.

Clever Supply Co. is doing so much “right.” It makes products in the U.S., sources many components domestically, and has stayed lean and efficient even while trying to expand its product offerings. The company grew safely, made smart decisions, and despite it all, is still being actively harmed by tariffs that are meant to protect companies just like Clever Supply Co., American companies.

Clever Supply Co. Navigates the Chaos

In the short term, Balsley says it has all been very stressful. He’s had to make “tough calls,” like pausing development on new products, but Clever Supply Co. can handle it for now.

In the long term, it’s less clear — for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is hard to predict how the tariffs will change. Clever Supply Co. immediately began meeting with U.S.-based manufacturers for soft goods, like bags, and those conversations are ongoing. Balsley characterizes the talks as promising.

Customers may not be able to buy the products they want right when they want them, but Clever Supply Co. has no plans to price out its passionate customer base.

“We’re just a small team trying to do things the right way — even when the ground keeps shifting. What customers can expect is transparency. If things take longer, we’ll tell you. If we change something, we’ll explain why. And no matter what, we’ll keep building things that are made with care, and built to last,” Balsley says.

He has remained upbeat and optimistic, which he says is part of how he leads.

“I’m not pretending this isn’t hard. It is. But I also know that complaining doesn’t solve anything. I try to take the mindset of: ‘Yeah, this sucks, but that’s business, so what are we going to do about it?’ That’s kind of the entrepreneurial deal, right?”

“We’re trying to make gear that doesn’t just look good but actually supports the creative process — and honors the craft of photography itself,” Balsley concludes.

Image credits: Clever Supply Co.