From Stu Rankin and the TCA listserv, who received this notice from a dealer. One assumes that Lionel is next if they haven't already communicated with their dealers. Time will tell.
Tariff News.
"I received this from MTH this week:
Tariff Pricing Increases To Begin In September
August 9, 2019 – The U.S. will expand tariffs on Toys coming from China, which includes all model railroad products imported from China for all manufacturers - including M.T.H. Electric Trains. The tariffs will go into effect beginning September 1st when the U.S. Government begins charging importers a 10% fee on the cost of those goods.
What does this mean for M.T.H. Electric Trains and our customers?
In short, it means our costs are rising by 10% and this cost has to be passed on to the retail distribution chain (our retailers and distributors) at a rate of 7.5% for the affected goods. To offset that increase, M.T.H. will raise the MSRP for the affected goods by 10%. Naturally, should the government lower or remove the rates in the future, we'll adjust or eliminate the increases as needed.
Which goods are affected?
In general, all merchandise received at M.T.H. Electric Trains on or after September 1, 2019 will be affected except Premier and HO Steam locomotives, Z4000 transformers, Proto-Smoke Fluid and some DCS components which are produced in South Korea, Thailand or the U.S. In-stock merchandise will not be affected until or if those items are replaced with new production runs received after September 1, 2019. For example, track and transformers that are in-stock today will not be affected by the new pricing until the current in-stock quantities are depleted and replaced with new quantities received in the future."
