President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10% increase to tariffs on goods from China, went into effect on March 4—and although the tariffs had been delayed once before, the publishing and printing industries are still left with more questions than answers as they look for ways to navigate the new levies. While American publishers will now face higher costs, printers in the United States hope that the tariffs will lead to more business.

Trump has touted the value of tariffs since his first first term as president, when he instituted tariffs on a wide range of products, including books, coming from China. Efforts led by various publishing players were successful in exempting Bibles and other religion books and reducing the tariffs on children’s books from 15% to 7.5%; eventually, even that lower rate was suspended. Other books printed in China remained subject to the tariffs throughout the Biden administration. The most pressing question now facing publishers with books produced in China is whether the exemptions granted in the previous tariffs will remain in effect.

While the amount of printing done in Canada and Mexico is far less than in China, the new tariffs on those two nations present other challenges. For one thing, the U.S. imported $1.82 billion of uncoated paper, some of which is used in books, in 2023, according to government statistics, with 67% of that paper coming from Canada. When asked about the possibility of Canadian tariffs at a media conference in December, HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray pointed out that, while HC doesn’t do much printing there, “lots of paper comes from Canada.”

The additional 20% tariff on goods from China is composed of an existing 10% hike imposed last month and another 10% increase that had been delayed. One publisher, speaking with PW on condition of anonymity, said he had received a bill that included the new 10% increase, but was told he may not have to pay it. With the new Trump orders, it is likely that the extra fee will now have to be paid.

American printers and publishers also disagree on whether American book manufacturers have enough capacity to take over the production of books that are currently printed in China. Executives have made clear that for certain books, including Bibles, there are still no real competitors to Chinese printers. There is also a limited, albeit growing, capacity in the U.S. to produce the deluxe hardcover editions that have become so popular, especially amid the romantasy boom. One publisher estimated that, unless there are changes to the tariffs in the coming weeks, he may need to add $1 to each hardcover. “I can’t afford to eat the cost,” he said.

Printers have insisted that their capacity has increased, and that they are willing to work with publishers to find ways to manufacture books in the U.S. affordably. The tariffs, some printers suggested, could also prove a boon to digital printers, which have also upped capacity in recent years. Ingram, for example, has suggested to some Canadian publishers whose books it distributes to use its print on demand service, Lightning Source.

The tariffs, along with other Trump actions, are also impacting relations with the Canadian and Mexican book businesses in other ways. Some participants for this year’s Texas Library Association annual conference, set for April 1–4 in Dallas, are rethinking their plans to attend, sources said, with one publisher of children's books noting that his company was planning to truck up books from Mexico to sell at the event but is now left to consider whether that is still an economically viable option. Many publishers also import Spanish-language books from Mexico—Bibles, in particular—and at the moment, what impact the tariffs will have on that practice remains unclear.

Some Canadian publishers are also reportedly starting to rethink plans to attend this year’s Association of Writers and Writing Programs annual conference, slated for March 26–29 in Los Angeles. The meeting is a big sales event for many of its attendees, comprising mostly smaller book and literary magazine publishers. But with margins for small presses already slim, the relative weakness of the Canadian dollar—and uncertainty surrounding what, if any, extra costs the tariffs might impose on titles brought to the U.S.—several publishers suggested that they might be forced either to consolidate tables or pull out of the conference entirely.