Tariffs are the hot topic of society recently, with the word resounding through all facets of life. It has made its way over to the beauty industry as well, transforming the landscape of what buying cosmetics looks like to the average consumer.
So what exactly are tariffs? According to the BBC News, “tariffs are taxes charged on goods from other countries.” The main goal for tariffs in today’s administration is hopes for more US-based manufacturing and consumption of American-made goods and a reduction in reliance on foreign imports. Furthemore, countries have been assigned differing tariff levels with China bearing the highest amount at over 145%. Other countries have a flat tax rate of 10% until a possible government change of decision in July. However, the reality is that tariffs have always been around, they simply have not been as high as they are now.
So, what does this have to do with the beauty industry exactly? Well, specifically within the industry, imports on consumer goods make up approximately 36.31% of all imports in their category, according to the World Integrated Trade Solution. A vast majority of beauty products are imported from countries such as South Korea, France, or Italy, therefore, a tariff on them will cause the price of products to rise. For example, a $60 moisturizer imported from Europe may rise to $66 due to a 10% tariff. The price increase lands on the consumers who now have to invest more money into both routine products and new ones they would like to try out. Due to higher costs, this may lead to less American spending in the cosmetics industry.
Furthermore, imports are not simply the full product alone. Whether it is raw materials, packaging, or ingredients, any component of a beauty product can be manufactured or bought abroad. As other parts of the product’s supply chain are disrupted, it affects the consumer all the same. In order to combat this problem, brands are trying to source ingredients from American suppliers, although some ingredients prove rather difficult. Plant-based ingredients such as coconut and palm oil, utilized in concealers, foundation and more are difficult to source as they are not grown in the United States.
The area that beauty brands have to consider critically, is packaging. With a majority of packaging coming from China, brands may have to change their packaging structures which impacts the way consumers visually perceive the brand. As one of the most expensive components of the supply chain for a beauty product, acquiring packaging from China is usually met with a cheaper cost, to offset the overall expensive nature of packaging.
Brands have been advised to take precautions in order to be better prepared for an unpredictable future. Although cosmetics have been seen to stay resilient during economic downturns, there is much to be seen in this particular time. The beauty industry will continue to change and all that consumers can do is eagerly wait and see what happens next.
Works Cited
Abramson, A. (2025, April 3). How much more expensive will beauty products get as tariffs take effect? Allure. https://www.allure.com/story/beauty-prices-trump-tariffs
Clarke, J. (2025, April 23). What are tariffs, how do they work and why is Trump using them?https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn93e12rypgo
Srinivasan, H. (2025, April 16). Where Your Makeup and Skincare Products Come From—And How Tariffs will make them pricier. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/tariffs-could-increase-makeup-skincare-prices-11713305
Team, B. V. J. (2025, April 10). Trump tariffs list: See all the tariffs by country. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypxnnyg7jo
United States Trade | WITS | Text. (n.d.). https://wits.worldbank.org/CountrySnapshot/en/USA/textview
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