To The Editor:

This week, we are in Washington DC, along with other board game industry professionals, to participate in a two-day series of meetings with legislators to let them know, firsthand, how our industry is being impacted.

All board game companies are facing a very difficult challenge. Even at 30%, the tariff is a substantial tax on US businesses and this 90-day window poses a significant threat. When the 145% tariff dropped, companies across multiple industries began the race to get their goods into port. This rush has resulted in delays from congestion and will likely push many or all the goods past the 90-day window. No one knows what lies beyond that cutoff date.

Smirk & Dagger Games’ entire Fall line is pushing to arrive in time. If it gets into port and through customs in time to honor the 30% tariff, we will be handed a $210,000 tax bill I never anticipated when I began production last December. If the 30% tariff suddenly jumps back to 53% or 145%, it could destroy everything I've built over the past 22 years. It would spell financial ruin for my company. I will be unable to pay such tariffs – and even if I could, the price increases I would have to implement would be so high that no consumer would pay for them. In either case, the taxes levied on my goods by my own government would put me out of business. And I am not alone.

It is the volatility and unpredictability of the tariffs that do the most harm. There is no way to plan, not enough time provided to react and no recourse. Tariffs are a tax on US businesses and the instability created by changing policy so radically and so quickly is devastating to the livelihoods of the companies, employees and all the support services underpinning our $9 billion/year industry.

The infrastructure to print board games does not exist in the US. There are only a few US-based printers and their capabilities are very limited. Even then, the paper, ink, wood and plastics used to make the games are also imported and subject to the same tariffs. Tariffs aside, the cost to produce in the US is prohibitive. Prior to tariffs, I quoted a simple card game that would normally retail for $20. Printing in the US is so costly, I would have to sell it at $50, a price no one would pay.

While the trade war is intended to level the playing field with other countries, the execution of its policies and the instability it causes in the supply chain will destroy small business in the United States, create empty shelves and inflated prices for consumers.

Curt Covert

Owner, Smirk & Dagger Games

Sandy Hook