Nearly a week after President Donald Trump announced a series of sweeping tariffs against dozens of United States trade partners, the overall impact on the hobby's most important companies, as well as collectors domestic and abroad, remains largely unclear.
To date, the most substantial move arrived Wednesday, when grading giant PSA halted all submissions to its U.S.-based facilities from international customers in an attempt to avoid massive fees attached to graded cards.
That move was an expanded reaction following a temporary pause on submissions to domestic facilities from customers in Canada, China, Hong Kong and Mexico in early March.
According to PSA, tariffs would be applied to the value of the cards themselves rather than the cost of the service provided.
A senior PSA official confirmed to cllct the business lost from halting submissions from international collectors is expected to be a noteworthy amount.
Third-party grading tracker GemRate reported in January that PSA was the clear industry leader in 2024 with more than 15 million cards graded.
Beckett confirmed to cllct it will continue to accept submissions to its Plano, Texas, facility, and international customers will be responsible for all import duties and taxes on the declared value of the order.
European collectors will continue to have access to the company’s grading center in Germany.
Certified Collectibles Group, which graded more than 2.3 million cards in 2024 under the CGC Cards brand, confirmed to cllct it will attempt to leverage the Temporary Importation under Bond process, which could be exempt from tariffs on international submissions shipped to its facility in Sarasota, Florida.
CCG also performs onsite grading for various categories in Shanghai, Munich and Hong Kong.
Though the major grading companies have plans in place for international submissions, several could be impacted by the cost of materials such as the plastic used to holder cards.
The same senior PSA official confirmed to cllct all of the company’s holders are manufactured domestically, and the company exclusively uses suppliers based in the United States.
According to the source, some raw materials used could be subject to tariffs, but those costs are believed to be immaterial compared to the overall cost of the grading service.
CCG confirmed to cllct it sources some supplies and packaging from China, though the company, in anticipation of possible tariffs, has established partnerships with domestic suppliers and is currently “investing in expanding these partnerships.”
It’s currently unclear when CCG began that process or what scale that partnership has reached.
Beckett didn’t offer details on materials used for its holders, but did confirm to cllct that tariffs between the U.S. and Canada could impact paper imports used for the production of the more than 70 Beckett magazines that are printed each year.
“We are closely monitoring the impact of tariffs on Beckett’s printing and production vendors,’’ Beckett chief marketing officer Scott Stroud told cllct in a statement. “We will move quickly and definitively to communicate any changes to our customers and industry partners. Our top priority is continuing to deliver trusted information to collectors as quickly and efficiently as possible.’’
The use of imported paper for trading card production stands to be a potential long-term factor, though it’s currently unclear to what extent.
Trading card manufacturers Fanatics, Panini America and Upper Deck all use domestic printing facilities, but none responded to requests for comment by cllct on relationships with suppliers or the origin of raw materials used.
According to Rittenhouse Archives president Steve Charendoff, the potential rising cost of imported paper materials, if used at all, won’t be insignificant, but likely won’t fall among the highest expenses for many ultra-modern releases.
Outside of basic mass-market releases that are largely considered ink-on-paper, manufacturers will typically spend much more on the printing process and the acquisition of assets such as autographs or memorabilia than the paper used.
Each manufacturer might also have its own reserve of paper earmarked for products currently in production, but it’s unclear when the acquisition of more paper, should it need to be imported, is needed.
Because of this, any rising costs for any imported paper might not be felt for an extended period.
“I’m concerned about anything that’s going to impact our costs, there’s no question about that,” Charendoff said. “But I’d be more concerned right now about the ability to move our finished product.”
According to Charendoff, the highest potential area of impact for the trading card manufacturers could be the export of finished releases to key regions abroad.
Upper Deck, which is best known for its hockey products, could see business impacted if sports and trading cards are included in any retaliatory tariffs from Canada on U.S. goods.
Panini, which produces licensed basketball and football cards, could also see business impacted as part of retaliatory tariffs from China.
China has become one of the fastest growing regions for trading cards in recent years, with a robust number of collectors chasing high-end basketball sets specifically.
European nations are also among those at risk for significant price increases for imported trading cards.
The sports card hobby has grown rapidly in Germany, France and the United Kingdom in recent years — Fanatics even plans to open its first flagship hobby store in London this spring —and retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods could make the already-difficult acquisition of American-made trading cards even more expensive than they already are.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.