Political policies and power plays really do affect us all, even cyclists, and manufacturers of US-made components like White Industries, who just recently added a 4% tariff surcharge to orders…

“The surcharge is due to severe increases in material and bearing cost. Despite using US made aluminum, steel, and titanium, we have still seen an increase of well over 28% in raw material cost alone. For this reason we have had to start attaching a 4% surcharge on all orders. Rather than increasing our prices, the tariff surcharge is listed making it easy for us to adjust or hopefully eliminate this surcharge when/if the tariff situation stabilizes. Thank you for understanding.”

Considering they’re eating a 28% increase in raw material cost, I’d say a 4% surcharge is more than fair. Still, this is something I don’t think many people considered would be a side effect from the recent moves in Washington.

See more at White Industries.