Tariff Turmoil: Trump's Trade Policy Sparks Uncertainty at NAB and Increases Focus on Software Adoption Many NAB attendees described a state of limbo with more questions than answers. By George Bevir, Editorial Director, SVG Europe Friday, April 25, 2025 - 11:44 am
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At this year's NAB Show, the impact of US tariffs loomed large over discussions on the exhibition floor. With President Trump's so-called Liberation Day' list of tariffs revealed to the world just a couple of days before NAB opened its doors, the topic of trade policies and the impact on suppliers of technology to the media industry was a key part of many conversations.
NAB 2025: Attendees in the South Hall
A baseline 10% tariff on all goods imported to the US was set to take effect on April 5, followed by further, higher tariffs on a long list of named countries a few days later. Since then, various adjustments have followed, with some tariffs paused by the end of the show and Trump this week saying that his administration would lower the 145% tariff on goods imported to the US from China.
And it was a combination of rapidly changing policies, unclear implementation guidelines, and unpredictable enforcement that created what many NAB attendees described as a state of limbo , with more questions than answers.
A senior manager at one manufacturer, who asked not to be named, told SVG: It will impact on sales to the US, but we've not started to adjust pricing yet. It's something we could do, but I think like a lot of other people we're waiting to find out what happens.
Co-founder of Caretta Research Rob Ambrose said that on the NAB show floor there was a mix of reactions.
While many were expecting the tariffs to change again before they really impact - as indeed, they partly did on the final day of the show- some vendors (including hardware-focused ones) were refusing to talk about it, while some were talking about increasing product assembly within the US.
For example, Canada-based Evertz plans to expand operations at its US manufacturing facility in Indiana, Pennsylviania.
We'd already been investing in manufacturing there, Mo Goyal, senior director, international business development/live media production, Evertz told SVG. We're now expediting that investment to address some of the tariff concerns that our US customers have. We are not building from scratch; instead, we're expanding that facility to bring in some local workers, adding to the team there, producing equipment there for local broadcast customers in the U.S.
Ambrose said the most common comment was it won't affect our customers', implying that vendors would absorb the impact of any tariffs.
While many media tech hardware products have high margins, swallowing the tariffs would impact already-precarious vendor profitability which isn't good for the longer-term health of the industry, he said.
For some companies based outside the US, the impact is already quantifiable. One manufacturer manufacturing in the UK and Japan noted, It has affected our general price list by around 20% for US customers, as of last Thursday (the week prior to NAB) .
Others acted further ahead of time, with Israel-based Waves increasing prices on hardware over 10% in February, in line with what the tariff increases were expected to be.
SmallHD and Teradek announced price increases before NAB began, explaining that although our products are designed and assembled in America, the increased import tariffs still heavily impact our supply chain.
Another manufacturer said: It will impact on sales to the US, but we've not started to adjust pricing yet. It's something we could do, but I think like a lot of other people we're waiting to find out what happens.
Futuresource Consulting lead market analyst, professional video and broadcast Joyce Wang said that many companies have adopted a wait-and-see tactic as Trump's tariff policies are changing frequently.
She said: As of now, Trump has paused higher trade tariffs for 90 days for most countries, excluding China. To prepare for the impact of the tariffs, some companies are diversifying their supply chains by planning to open new factories in different countries or shifting production locations depending on the tariffs. Some hardware manufacturers are also considering a price hike for US end-users.
Blackmagic Design was the first camera manufacturer to increase prices on products sold in the US, but, as the company explained, shifting manufacturing to the US to avoid tariffs on goods sold to US-based companies is not entirely straightforward because the cost of parts imported from overseas incur their own tariffs.
A chart created by Caretta Research which asserts that although it's still a big slice for several key vendors, only a relatively small proportion of the overall market value is hardware sold in the US. More here.
And it is proprietary hardware devices, such as cameras, switchers, routers and infrastructure products, that are among the products expected to be affected more than others.
Said Ambrose: Many of these are made outside the US in places like Canada and China that are potentially most exposed to the tariffs. So far software, services and cloud are unaffected, though there's always the risk of retaliatory tariffs against the US hyperscalers and digital services businesses which dominate global markets.
Read more NAB 2025 in Review: Broadcast Audio Faces a Future of Tariff-Induced Higher Costs
Meanwhile, some manufacturers are considering creative workarounds by, for example, adjusting products to meet different tax classifications and exploring alternative pricing options for hardware and software.
A hardware vendor explained to SVG: The tariffs are on the hardware, but this piece of hardware
