GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - It all started two months ago with President Trump slapping tariffs on aluminum and steel from other countries.
"As the president is trying to protect U.S. manufacturing, this is doing the exact opposite to a very iconic U.S. manufacturing industry," said Nicole Vasilaros, the Senior Vice President, Government and Legal Affairs with the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).
American-made boats.
Nationally, sales have been great, last year hitting the highest level in a decade.
"We're proudly an American-made product, but that unfortunately put us on the target list for retaliation," said Vasilaros.
That's what happened. In response to the tariffs, Europe, Canada, and Mexico - which make up nearly 70 percent of U.S. boat exports - punched back with their own tariffs, specifically on American boats.
Boating's big business in Minnesota; the state ranks fifth in spending and its yearly economic impact is around $5.5 billion. And Minnesota makes the boats, too, with iconic names like Lund, Crestliner and Polaris, which just got into the game, buying up the country's largest pontoon maker back in May.
"You know, nobody needs a boat, everybody hopefully wants a boat, but we have to be very sensitive to price changes," said Vasilaros, who adds that tariffs are straining the U.S. aluminum supply, driving prices and causing shortages.
The NMMA is meeting with Congress and the Trump Administration to explain how these tariffs are hurting the boating industry.
"If this drags on for three months and longer, I think you're going to start seeing an impact to the overall cost of the businesses, and they're obviously going to have to pass a lot of that on to the consumer," said Vasilaros.