Photo: Tuba concert in Denver. | This article involves an increase in the price of wood-brass instruments by tariffs. | By Travis Gettys, Raw Story | President Donald Trump wants to add certain musical instruments to its list of national security tariffs. According to a notice from the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Trump administration intends to add wood-brass instruments — tubas, trombones, trumpets, French horns and their parts — to the list of imports subject to Section 232 national security tariffs, reported Opera Wire.
“Disturbing news for trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba players,” said Janet Horvath, a cello player for the Minnesota Orchestra.
The administration argued that reliance on imported metals could weaken demand for American-made materials, and diminished domestic production could leave the country short on critical supplies during a national emergency.
If enacted, imported brass instruments and components would face a 25 percent tariff, part of a push officials say is meant to boost American manufacturing and draw foreign investment.
Music industry groups warn the move would compound damage tariffs have already caused. The National Association of Music pointed to a Peterson Institute for International Economics study finding that tariffs drove a 27 percent drop in wind instrument imports in 2025 alone, and cautioned that extending duties to brass instruments would further raise costs for musicians and students nationwide.
NAMM CEO John Mlynczak argued the policy overlooks how the instrument market actually works.
Nearly half of American students — about 25 million children, a participation rate unmatched anywhere else in the world — learn music through affordable, entry-level instruments in school programs, Mlynczak said.
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Read more about this disturbing news here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/tubas-declared-a-national-security-threat-as-musicians-disturbed-by-trump-move/
