WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Lots of locals are picking up fireworks for the Independence Day celebration, but will tariffs on China imports prevent customers from getting a good bang for their buck?
While tariffs on China have impacted prices on imports, including fireworks, people 28/22 News spoke with at one fireworks store in Wilkes-Barre Township say, regardless of prices, the show will go on.
According to the American Pyrotechnic Association (APA), 99% of all consumer fireworks in the United States are imported from China, and with a 30% tariff in place on all imports from the country, it's hard to imagine prices staying the same, but according to the general manager of a local fireworks store, that's exactly what's happening.
"We ordered our products 12 months in advance, which took the tariffs out of the question. We ordered early and we filled the store," Keystone Fireworks General Manager Jason Helfrich explained.
The APA says more than 295,000,000 pounds of consumer fireworks were purchased last year in the United States alone.
That number includes everything from sparklers, snaps, and snakes to the big ones that light up the night sky.
One customer 28/22 News spoke with says even with the talk of tariffs, she wasn't worried.
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"I was going to buy fireworks no matter what laughs. Whether the tariff had a problem on it, we were still gonna buy them. It would just matter how many we could have," Harding resident Stephanie Davis said.
While the tariffs might not be affecting the prices, Davis and another customer we spoke with both agree fireworks can be expensive.
"The prices last year I thought were pretty high, this year they seem to be about the same, but with the sale, I think you're going to get more for your money," Davis added.
"It's a little expensive in here. Compared to other years," Terik Wiggins from Wilkes-Barre stated.
Helfrich says he's already looking ahead to next summer and isn't worried about the prices of his firework stock going up.
"China has been making fireworks for over 1,000 years. It doesn't make sense to have them made in the United States, so we feel one hundred percent confident that the tariffs are not going to affect our prices next year," Helfrich continued.
Trade and tariff talks between the United States and China are still in progress.
