How the 2025 Liberation Day Tariffs Are Affecting Global Manufacturing and What You Can Do

In April 2025, the United States introduced a new set of trade rules called the Liberation Day tariffs. These changes increased import taxes on many goods from countries such as China, Vietnam, and several European nations. If your company makes or designs products that use imported parts, especially electronics or smart devices, these new tariffs may raise your costs and affect your supply chain.

In this blog, we explain what the Liberation Day tariffs mean, how they affect businesses like yours, and what you can do to stay ahead.

What Are the Liberation Day Tariffs

The Liberation Day tariffs are import taxes that apply to a wide range of products. These include parts used in smart electronics, circuit boards, sensors, moulded plastics, and more.

The U.S. government says the goal is to support local manufacturing. For businesses, the result is that many commonly used parts now cost more to bring into the country.

Products Most Affected

Many companies that make smart devices or electronic products are seeing higher costs for these items:

• Circuit boards and subassemblies

• Plastic and metal parts

• Sensors and smart modules

• Internet-connected devices and components

What This Means for Product Teams

You Will Face Higher Costs

The most immediate impact is an increase in the cost of making your products. In many cases, these new tariffs raise prices by ten per cent (10%) or more. This can reduce your profit or force you to increase what you charge customers.

You May Need New Suppliers

To avoid higher prices, some businesses are changing where they get their parts. India, Mexico, and other countries are becoming popular alternatives to China. Switching suppliers may reduce costs, but it can also create new problems, such as longer wait times or different quality standards.

Your Shipping May Be Slower

Tariffs have made customs processes more complicated. This has led to delays at shipping ports. If your company depends on fast delivery or low inventory levels, these delays can interrupt your production schedule.

What You Can Do to Adapt

Here are four steps you can take to manage the 2025 US tariffs impact without rushing into decisions that might hurt your business later. These steps focus on reducing cost pressure, staying flexible, and protecting your production plans.

First, Review Your Bill of Materials

Start by carefully reviewing your bill of materials (BOM). This is the full list of parts and components that go into your product. You need to know which of these parts are now more expensive because of the Liberation Day tariffs 2025.

Focus on the parts that:

• Come from countries included in the tariff list

• Make up a large part of your product cost

• Cannot be easily replaced or removed

Once you identify those parts, calculate how much extra they are now costing you. This will help you understand whether the tariffs are a small bump or a serious risk to your profit margin. From there, you can start to compare other options or decide to wait, depending on how serious the impact is.

You should also talk with your finance or sourcing team to see if they are already tracking this impact. In many companies, this data may already exist; you just need to use it.

Second, Explore Other Supplier Countries

If your BOM shows that many key parts are now more expensive due to the tariffs, it may be worth exploring sourcing alternatives to China or other affected countries.

Consider suppliers in countries that are not affected by the tariffs, such as:

• Thailand: Thailand has a strong manufacturing sector, particularly in electronics and automotive components. While the U.S. has imposed a 36% tariff on Thai goods,  Thailand's established infrastructure and quality standards make it a viable option for certain products.​

• Vietnam: Vietnam has become a significant player in electronics manufacturing. However, it's important to note that the U.S. has imposed a 46% tariff on Vietnamese goods,  which may affect cost-effectiveness.​

Before moving forward, do a small test order or quality audit. Some regions may offer better prices, but slower delivery or different levels of reliability. Take the time to check:

• Can they meet your quality needs?

• Do they have the capacity to scale if you grow?

• What are their lead times, payment terms, and communication style?

A small trial now can prevent a large mistake later. Diversifying your supplier base is a strong long-term move, even if you do not shift everything right away.

Third, Design Products for Flexibility

The best long-term way to reduce your exposure to tariffs and trade disruptions is to design your products with flexibility in mind. This means making sure you are not locked into a single supplier or country.

Here are a few ways to do that:

• Use common or widely available parts. Avoid parts made by only one company or in only one country.

• Design in modules. If you can separate your product into parts that are made in different places, you can shift production more easily later.

• Avoid region-specific materials or compliance features. For example, if you plan to sell globally, avoid using region-locked wireless components or country-specific plastics.

Product teams should also work closely with sourcing and compliance teams during the early stages of design. A simple change in design today might open the door to two or three supplier options in the future.

Fourth, Strengthen Communication With Key Suppliers

Instead of switching suppliers too quickly, it can often help more to build stronger communication with the ones you already have. This is especially true if they are a good match in terms of quality and consistency.

Reach out and ask:

• What are they doing to respond to the tariffs?

• Are they seeing cost changes on their end that affect your pricing?

• Can they offer other shipping routes or temporary pricing support?

• Do they have production in other countries you could tap into?

In some cases, your current supplier may already be working on solutions that could help you. You might be able to split orders across locations, delay the impact, or renegotiate terms that reduce your short-term risk.

Keeping these relationships strong also positions you better if policies change again, as they often do. Many suppliers value loyal, long-term customers and are willing to be flexible if you are open and clear with your concerns.

Why This Matters for You

If you work in product design, sourcing, or manufacturing, these tariffs will likely impact your operations. The tariff impact on manufacturing in 2025 is real and growing. However, this is also a chance to build stronger and more flexible systems.

It is important not to panic. Tariffs on Chinese goods have been introduced, adjusted, and removed at different times over the past ten years. This happened during the earlier trade tensions in 2018, again in 2020, and now in 2025. Changes were often rolled back or reduced after a few months.

If you act in panic, like cancelling a supplier relationship or moving your entire supply chain, you could spend more in the long run. Watch the situation closely, track any cost increases, and give yourself time to make smart, well-informed choices. You may find that tariffs ease or are revised before you need to make major changes.

At Ardencraft, we help product teams respond to changes like this. Whether you need to audit your supply chain, explore new countries for sourcing, or redesign your product for lower risk, our team is ready to help.

Let’s Work Through This Together

Are the Liberation Day tariffs affecting your product plans? Have your costs gone up, or have your shipments slowed down?

Tell us what you are seeing. Leave a comment or send us a message. We are here to listen and help.