Steve Kubrick believes he might have dodged a bullet for buying his fireworks for an Independence Day display in New Kensington last year before the U.S. tariffs on China came in.
“I bought mine last year,” said Kubrick, owner of the AK Valley Park in New Kensington. “That might have been the right deal.”
Steep tariffs imposed on Chinese imports have upended the nearly $3 billion per year U.S. fireworks industry.
Fireworks retailers, wholesalers and professional pyrotechnic companies asked Chinese companies to halt production this month because they say they cannot absorb the 145% tariff that’s levied on Chinese imports.
“We’ll luck out this year,” Kubrick said. “Now next year, who knows.”
The levy may surge even further as neither side appears to be backing down from the trade war.
A 145% tariff more than doubles the cost of a product. If the seller passes on the entire import tax, a $10 item could become $24.50.
“There’s no one in business who wouldn’t be in trouble,” said William Weimer, vice president and general counsel of Phantom Fireworks. The company, based in Youngstown, Ohio, has locations in Hempfield and New Kensington.
If things don’t change, it could double the cost of fireworks used to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday in 2026, industry leaders say.
Possible shortage
There also may be a shortage in 2026 because U.S. companies generally place orders with Chinese producers more than a year in advance, said Stacy Schneitter-Blake, president of the National Fireworks Association, a trade group that represents fireworks retailers.
It has teamed up with the American Pyrotechnic Association to lobby the Trump administration for a fireworks exemption from the tariffs.
Fireworks displays generated $500 million while consumer fireworks sales were $2.2 billion in 2023, according to the APA, the latest figures available. That translates to 273.6 million pounds of product in 2023, according to the APA.
“A lot of people are depending on us. Not just our customers. Our employees,” Weimer said.
Phantom has about 500 employees and several thousand more who work between late spring and early summer in advance of Independence Day festivities.
“We hope there will be some action taken in the near future and we’ll be able to order products again,” Weimer said.
Limited community impact
Plum has one fireworks display every year, and that takes place at its Summerfest Celebration in June, said Manager David Soboslay.
In November 2023, Plum entered into an agreement with Zambelli setting the price for their services for 2024 through 2026, he said.
“At this time, we are not expecting any price increase due to tariffs,” he said.
In Monroeville, recreation and parks director Paul Estok said the town will pay about $21,000 for its July 4 fireworks show this year, through a contract with Pyrotechnico.
“We did receive notification that, for this year only, we would pay an additional $287,” Estok said. “They explained the effects the tariffs were going to have, and asked us to help offset the cost.”
Pyrotechnico officials told Estok that, since their 2025 show already was booked when the tariffs went into effect, the additional charge was based only on the product portion of their show contract.
Monroeville also recently entered into a three-year contract with the company that will see them paying $25,000 next year, $22,000 in 2027 and $22,500 in 2028.
“It’s not that much difference from previous years,” Estok said.
Apollo is bringing back its fireworks display July 6. Fundraisers throughout last year covered the costs for this year’s display, said Councilman Mark Tarle. The tariffs didn’t appear to impact the borough’s display this year, he said.
“What’s going to happen for next year … we’ll deal with that when the time comes,” he said.
Fireworks are a traditional part of the Latrobe 4th of July Celebration, and they’ll continue to be featured this year, though at a slightly increased price, according to event coordinator Stephanie Babich Mihleder.
Mihleder said organizers, who obtain competitive quotes, are using Pyrotechnico this year, the third time the company has provided the Latrobe display.
Mihleder didn’t reveal the price the Latrobe event is paying, but she said it has gone up by about 2%.
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“We received an invoice for a small additional amount,” she said. “It was nothing that really rocked us, but they did have to circle back and let us know a few weeks ago.”
Aside from any tariff fallout, cost increases have been a yearly reality for the Crabtree fireworks display that is part of the annual midsummer Our Lady of Mount Carmel Festival at St. Bartholomew Church in Unity.
Festival chairperson Julie Watkins said the price for fireworks supplied by Keystone Fireworks has gone up by about 20% annually since the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic, costing about $30,000 last year. This year’s display is set for 10:30 p.m. July 19.
“Its gone up every year for the last several years,” she said of the cost. “But that’s what draws our crowd, so we find other ways to work around it.”
Watkins said festival organizers have cut costs in other areas. For instance, instead of renting games, they’re using donated ones that have been made by hand.
Trying to work with customers
Fireworks enjoy bipartisan support, and it is not feasible for them to be produced in the U.S., Schneitter-Blake, Weimer and the heads of two large commercial fireworks display companies told TribLive.
“The manufacturing capacity just isn’t here,” Pyrotechnico President Rocco Vitale said.
Those in the industry also are united against the tariffs, although they’re quick to mention they support the sentiment behind them.
“We are about America first,” Schneitter-Blake said in a statement.
The tariffs will hurt both fireworks sellers and those who put on displays. It also will mean small towns that spend between $10,000 and $25,000 for a display get less bang for their buck.
Disney spends about $50,000 per night on fireworks, according to a 2021 Forbes report.
“We are trying to work with customers,” Zambelli President Michael Hartman said.
A 145% increase in the cost of the products used for a display couldn’t be absorbed by the companies, and it’s too much for customers to pay.
That’s the reason orders to China have stopped.
There’s enough supply on hand to potentially meet this year’s needs, the display firms and retailers said.
“We hold a lot of inventory on hand. That has helped us out,” Vitale said.
Industry leaders have sent letters to the Trump administration, and they recently met with a White House liaison, Schneitter-Blake said.
The 130-year-old Schneitter Fireworks she owns is a fourth-generation family-owned business based in St. Joseph, Mo.
The tariffs are going to hurt a lot of American small business owners, she said.
“It certainly doesn’t look good,” Hartman said.
Staff writers Jeff Himler, Kellen Stepler and Patrick Varine contributed to this report.