A coalition of toy makers — including model railroad companies like Scale Trains, Rapido, and Atlas — says that their industry is “facing collapse” if stiff import taxes levied by the Trump Administration against China remain in place. On May 5, the Hobby Industry Coalition was launched to speak out against the new tariffs and lobby for exemptions for their products. 

Most high-quality model trains are made in China. However, the prices of those models are expected to increase if President Trump’s 145 percent tariffs, implemented last month, remain in place. In a press release, the Coalition called for the reinstatement of past exemptions from import taxes for toys and models. 

“We’re offering a policy solution that respects enforcement goals while correcting unintended harm,” Stacey Walthers Naffah, president of Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. and spokesperson for the Coalition, wrote in a statement. “This is practical, precedent-based, and pro-small business. We support the ideas of a reinvigorated domestic manufacturing base and healthy, happy American communities, and we can help support that aim.  We stand ready with a wide range of hobbies that support learning, workforce development, plus fulfillment and enjoyment for all. We ask for relief, as time is of the essence to preserve the industry as it is enjoyed today, to build the future we want tomorrow.”

Other hobby manufacturers represented by the coalition include tabletop gamers, die-cast model makers, puzzle producers, and more. According to the Coalition, the industry employs over 600,000 workers in the U.S., primarily in thousands of small, family-run businesses. 

As part of the Coalition’s lobbying efforts, they have launched a new website that enables hobbyists to contact their elected officials and sign a petition for fair trade. For more information, visit HobbyCoalition.org. —Justin Franz