By The Washington Times (Business) | Created at 2026-08-07 18:06:18 | Updated at 2026-08-07 20:04:16
3 hours ago
The Trump administration this week declared tubas, trombones, trumpets and French horns a national security threat.
President Trump took the step Thursday on these important pieces of any high school or professional orchestra as part of a bid to expand tariffs on aluminum, steel and copper products.
The administration proposed slapping a 25% tariff on imported brass wind instruments, their parts and accessories, arguing that the products are predominantly made from metals the administration considers vital to national defense. Brass wind instruments, which produce a sound when a musician’s lips hit a funnel-shaped mouthpiece, are made from a combination of copper and zinc.
Critics charge the administration is stretching the national security justification beyond reason by treating high school band instruments as a threat to America.
“I keep thinking of the ’Music Man’ song, ’76 trombones’ are invading,” said Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in economics at the Pacific Research Institute. “The sheer silliness of applying national security to musical instruments reveals that this administration just wants tariffs on products and they are willing to get them any way they can.”
Brass wind instruments were included alongside fire extinguishers, floor safes, electrical cables, welding-machine parts and tanker trailers in a list of 14 categories the Trump administration wants to hit with levies under Section 232. The statute allows the president to impose tariffs on imports deemed to undermine national security.
The Trump administration said the volume of imported metals used to make brass wind instruments and other products reduces the U.S. supply of critical materials. Reliance on foreign products reduces the demand for domestically produced aluminum, copper and steel, resulting in shuttering U.S. plants and limited supply during a national emergency.
The notice for the proposed tariffs in the Federal Register said that information available to the Commerce Department indicates that the proposed products threaten to undermine efforts to protect the domestic metal industries.
It did not say when it would decide on the proposal.
A White House official told The Washington Times that focusing on the musical instruments was “missing the point” of the 232 tariffs. The White House argues that tariffs on raw metals, such as steel slabs, can be sidestepped entirely by shipping the finished product to the U.S.
“The inclusion of these derivative products ensures that domestic production does not get undercut at another point in the supply chain,” the official said.
The new levy, however, could increase costs for school districts, community music programs and families already confronting higher prices for beginner instruments. Many entry-level and intermediate brass instruments sold in the U.S. are manufactured overseas because the demand for such products outstrips the nation’s supply, according to the National Association of Music Merchants.
“It makes no logical sense that any musical product would be a national security risk,” NAMM CEO & President John Mlynczak told the Times. “In fact, the opposite is true. Music making has been one of the most culturally uniting activities for thousands of years.”
“The amount of brass and copper we are using to make music products is inconsequential. As important as our industry is, when you actually look at the pure amount of materials in an industry of our size, it’s fractions of a fraction of a fraction of a percent.”
A 25% tariff on an imported trumpet valued at $500, for example, would add $125 to the importer’s cost before shipping, distribution and retail markups. The eventual increase in the store price could be higher or lower depending on how much of the tariff manufacturers, importers and retailers absorb.
Approximately 25 million children participate in school music programs, according to NAMM.
“Kids can have less access to an important development experience, or you can have higher costs in schools, and that does lead to higher taxes,” said Mr. Winegarden, the economist. “You’re diverting more resources into purchasing equipment, which puts higher costs on the economy and that’s detrimental to [economic] growth.”
The U.S. imported nearly $119 million worth of brass wind instruments in 2024, according to World Bank trade data. China accounted for roughly $54 million, followed by Japan at $37 million and Taiwan at more than $16 million.
However, the effective tariff rate on all musical instruments hit 16.6% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. That’s three times higher than the effective rate in 2024.
The steep tariffs have resulted in Americans buying fewer instruments. Musical instrument imports have dropped 9% since last year and 20% from 2024, with wind instruments down by as much as 27% compared to 2025, according to Peterson, which estimates that a U.S.-made French horn costs nearly $5,000 while an imported Chinese version can sell for $600.
The administration’s proposal comes shortly after Conn Selmer, which calls itself the largest American manufacturer of band and orchestral instruments, closed its Eastlake, Ohio, factory.
The company announced in January that it planned to transfer its production of brass winds such as tubas, sousaphones and some French horns to China, eliminating roughly 150 jobs.
Conn Selmer said the changes were necessary to improve its competitiveness and respond to market demand, while union workers accused the company of abandoning American manufacturing. The company owns several of the country’s most recognizable instrument brands, including Bach, Conn, King, Holton and Selmer.
Conn Selmer is owned by John Paulson, a hedge fund manager and Trump campaign adviser, who authored an article in The Wall Street Journal arguing in favor of Mr. Trump’s tariffs.
Conn Selmer did not respond to a request for comment for this report.
The Trump administration’s plan to tariff musical instruments follows a series of actions to protect steel, aluminum, copper and their derivatives under the national security umbrella. Mr. Trump previously invoked Section 232 to impose tariffs on couches, sofas, knives and even deodorant because some products contain aluminum.
“Section 232 doesn’t really define national security. It’s pretty open-ended and gives the administration flexibility,” said Alfredo Carillo Obregon, a trade policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute. “I would argue the root of this problem is the ambiguities that are part of this law.”
