Accessory Maker Anker Raises Prices Following US Tariffs

Anker, the Chinese accessory maker, has raised its prices on Amazon following the application of new tariffs brought about by the United States government.

Reuters reports that the company, which makes phone cases, power banks, adapters, cables, and more, raised prices on a fifth of its products since Thursday.

The move comes as the company passes the cost of US tariffs onto its US-based customers.

Some 127 Anker products have seen an average increase of 18% since Thursday last week, with the majority of those occurring after Monday, April 7, when U.S. President Donald Trump added an extra 50% import duty on Chinese goods, according to data from e-commerce services provider SmartScout.

Reuters notes that, on an investor call earlier in the week, Anker had said that it was able to raise prices “as it had bargaining power and because its rivals were mainly Chinese and under similar tariff pressure, but did not provide specifics.”

Ultimately, more companies could well choose to follow suit. Tariffs make it more costly for companies to bring goods from specific countries into the United States.

One way that those companies can negate the additional costs while protecting their profits is to increase prices, effectively passing the cost of the tariffs onto customers. The result is that US-based customers pay more for products as a result of the tariffs that were imposed by its leaders.