Jesus take the tariff: Why Bibles might quickly get costlier due to Trump’s coverage | EUROtoday

Donald Trump’s sweeping worldwide tariffs could elevate the worth of Bibles – together with the president’s branded model of the holy textual content.

The CEO of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, which describes itself because the U.S.’s largest industrial Bible and Christian e-book writer, instructed The Wall Street Journal that it had been “all hands on deck,” after the president introduced the tariffs on Wednesday.

Bibles are usually printed on skinny paper inventory and with presses which can be largely situated exterior the U.S., in response to The Journal.

This contains China, the place Trump’s official “God Bless the USA” Bibles are printed.

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According to a chart produced as a prop by the president throughout his announcement, Chinese imports will face a 34 % “reciprocal” tariff along with a pre-existing 20 % tariff imposed earlier this yr, for a complete of 54 %.

There could also be extra coming, with further industry-specific tariffs.

Though Trump has by no means stated the place his personally branded holy books are printed, or what they value; a duplicate hand-signed by the president was beforehand priced at $1,000. Trump has additionally not disclosed how a lot he earns per sale.

However, international commerce information beforehand reviewed by The Associated Press confirmed {that a} printing firm in China’s jap metropolis of Hangzhou shipped near 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States final yr.

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The estimated worth of the three separate shipments was $342,000, or lower than $3 per Bible, in response to AP, who cited databases that observe exports and imports. The minimal value for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, placing the potential gross sales income at about $7 million.

It is unclear how such future shipments of the president’s personal product could be affected by his worldwide tariffs.

The Independent has reached out to the White House for remark about worldwide Bible shipments, in addition to HarperCollins Christian Publishing and the American Bible Society.