The initial announcement of President Trump’s new tariffs on goods imported from China, Mexico and Canada threw global markets into a state of uncertainty and concern this past week, with fears of major economic fallout and key industry players formulating strategies to navigate a potentially more aggressive U.S. trade policy. The 30-day pause on tariffs against goods imported from Mexico and Canada, which were slated to take effect on February 4, has provided a brief reprieve, but with the looming threat of their implementation, the optical industry continues to assess the tariffs’ potential impact should the Trump administration enact the additional measures.

 
 Rick Van Arnam.
Industry experts and associations are viewing the proposed 25 percent tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10 percent tariff on imports from China, as a threat to the stability and profitability of the eyewear industry. And, with data showing China as the largest source of frames and mountings imports into the U.S., and second only to Mexico as the source of non-glass unmounted spectacle lenses, China’s market volume portends the massive potential repercussions of additional tariffs.

“Foreign manufacturing will see their goods are more expensive to send to the U.S., which could result in targeting new markets,” said Rick Van Arnam, The Vision Council’s regulatory affairs counsel, who spoke to VMAIL prior to Trump’s initial tariffs announcement. “Frames distributors who import finished frames will pay the duty and then decide what to absorb and what to pass on. They will likely need to increase prices, and could see unit volumes decrease because of lost sales associated with price increases. The eyewear industry has had several years to find new sources, but continues to remain very tied to China.”

    
  To read more about how lens manufacturers are dealing with the effects of tariffs, click here.  
    
Analysis from The Vision Council using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) import data from 2023 (the latest full year of data available) and customized for VMAIL demonstrates the volume of imported materials from China, Mexico and Canada, and with it where the possible pain points may be. Specifically, the data show that additional tariffs on imports from China could drive costs up for frame imports, sunglasses imports, and other glasses imports such as readers, blue light glasses, etc., and new tariffs on Mexico could have a significant impact on import costs for lenses.

Here is what The Vision Council’s analysis shows, based on USITC 2023 data and stratified according to categories defined by harmonized tariff schedule codes:

 
  • Frames and Mountings, of Plastics
    Data: Imports from China accounted for 73 percent of total imports in 2023 of frames and mountings, of plastics (acetate); Mexico (0.26 percent) and Canada (0.04 percent) contributed marginally.
    Analysis: Additional tariffs on China would have a substantial impact, while those on Mexico and Canada would be minimal.

  • Frames and Mountings, Other Than of Plastics
    Data: China leads the import market, with an 84 percent share of imports in 2023 for frames and mountings not made of plastics (primarily metal frames in this category); Mexico and Canada each provided 0.05 percent of the imports.
    Analysis: Tariffs targeting China would likely have a substantial effect on these types of frames, with little impact expected from tariffs on Mexico or Canada.

  • Spectacle Lenses of Materials Other Than Glass, Unmounted
    Data: Mexico (27 percent) and China are key suppliers (17 percent), while Canada’s share is only 0.07 percent in 2023 in the non-glass lenses category (includes all of the typical lens materials used in eyeglasses in the U.S.).
    Analysis: New tariffs on imports from Mexico and increasing tariffs on China could substantially affect lens imports.

    •  
  • Spectacles, Goggles and the Like, Corrective, Protective or Other, Other than Sunglasses
    Data: Imports from China made up a large part of the market (64 percent) in 2023 in this category, which includes reading glasses, plano blue light glasses, goggles, and a completed set of prescription glasses with lenses and frames. Mexico and Canada represented only 2.19 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively.
    Analysis: Additional tariffs on China would have an impact on import prices, and the new tariffs on Mexico would have a minor impact, while tariffs on Canadian imports would be less consequential.

  • Sunglasses, Corrective, Protective or Other
    Data: Sunglasses imports are largely reliant on China, which accounted for 88 percent of imports in 2023 in this category; both Mexico and Canada contributed virtually no imports of sunglasses.
    Analysis: Additional tariffs on China would be expected to have a substantial impact on this category.

  • Contact lenses
    Data: Mexico made up .08 percent of all contact lens imports to the U.S. in 2023, Canada .02 percent, China .0003 percent.
    Analysis: Contact lenses imports would not be substantially affected by additional tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.

Omar Elkhatib.

With this in mind, experts from the optical industry, and other sectors, are questioning whether an exclusion process is likely to be introduced—and what aspects of the optical sector it’s likely to affect. As many in the industry are aware, and as noted recently in articles published in Vision Monday and Review of Optometric Business (ROB), a VM sister publication, the U.S. optical industry is not new to import tariffs, or to advocacy efforts seeking exclusions. In the ROB article, Omar Elkhatib, senior manager of government relations at The Vision Council, noted that these optical products have typically been subject to “regular duties” regardless of their origin, with items such as lenses and plastic spectacle frames facing levies around 2 percent to 2.5 percent and eyeglass cases subject to higher tariffs.

He further explained in the article, published in January, that Section 301 tariffs for products imported from China, knowns as “China 301” duties, which were imposed in 2018, add further costs, with optical products like frames, lenses, sunglasses and low-vision eyewear subject to a 7.5 percent tariff, and items such as eyeglass cases, cleaning solutions and machinery used for eyewear production face a higher rate of 25 percent. Elkhatib has advised VMAIL that The Vision Council is continuing its advocacy efforts to support the optical industry.

 
“As in the past, The Vision Council is lobbying on behalf of the optical industry against the implementation of increased tariffs,” Elkhatib recently told VMAIL. “The Council’s Government and Regulatory Affairs team seeks to leverage its established relationships on Capitol Hill as it engages with the new Congress on tariff-related issues. As part of our ongoing advocacy to alleviate the economic burden on companies importing spectacle frames and reading glasses, The Vision Council is seeking to reinstate the one-year exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs that were previously granted to eyewear products, and from which many member companies benefitted.”

The Vision Council’s Van Arnam noted, “If the exclusion process were modeled after the original one, any optical company could petition for relief,” he said. “However, the last time, relief required a finding of economic injury to the U.S. company, and the inability of that company to source the goods in the U.S. or in a non-China source. Now that years have passed since the original 301, I think companies that have not already moved will have a difficult time pleading hardship if they have continued to be invested in China. Also, I’m not sure what an exclusion process could look like if Trump were to impose the blanket 10 percent and 20 percent tariff.”

 
James M. Morris. 
James M. Morris, chief executive officer and general counsel, United Opticians Association, echoed Van Arnam’s take on Trump’s trade policy, highlighting that trade policies and tariffs can create shifts in global trade patterns, influencing economies differently based on their reliance on exports and imports.

“The long-term effects depend on how countries adapt their trade relationships and the balance of competition versus collaboration,” Morris said. “The vision care industry as a whole, and opticians as a critical component of the ophthalmic industry, will need to act vigilantly in order to work with the incoming administration on an exclusion from the tariffs as essential medical devices and related products, and to investigate potential alternative global sources for critical ophthalmic components.”

Commenting on the tariffs’ potential effects on various aspects of the industry, Morris noted that optical labs may be impacted by rising costs of imported materials and equipment, potentially limiting the affordability and availability of lab services. Tariffs on imported frames could lead to higher retail prices, altering purchasing behaviors among consumers and potentially impacting fashion-focused and price-sensitive segments.

“If tariffs make imports from China less viable, sourcing could shift to countries like Italy, which has a long-standing reputation for high-quality acetate frame manufacturing, whereas precision-engineered small components could alternatively be sourced from Germany, Japan and Switzerland,” he said. “Companies will need to investigate the country of origin for the raw materials for these products, as the 301 tariffs will still apply for products if the raw materials come from China, or any other country of origin subject to the applicable tariffs.




“Tariffs under Section 301 disproportionately affect products critical to vision correction, creating an undue financial burden on consumers, particularly seniors, children and low-income individuals,” Morris added. “Advocacy efforts would need to emphasize the medical necessity and public health implications of these components to seek exclusions. The UOA will be closely monitoring developments and advocating for specific exclusions, emphasizing the essential public health role of optical goods.”


Ken Weissman.
Like Morris, Ken Weissman, president and CEO of Modern Optical International, expressed concern over the repercussions increased tariffs would have on consumers’ purchasing power, as well as their eye health.

“In recent years, prescription eyeglass and sunglass wearers have purchased multiple frames for fashion and style reasons. If purchase prices rise as a result of increased tariffs, consumers may be less likely to purchase multiple frames,” Weissman said. “If significant enough, tariffs may lead to consumers getting their eyes examined less frequently.

“Good vision is essential to the health and welfare of our communities,” he said.

Anne Cooper contributed reporting to this story.


   
 This is a developing story. Check back for additional news and reporting in an upcoming issue of VMAIL. For more on these tariffs, check out Part 1 of this story, titled As Tariffs Loom, the Optical Industry Responds, and Braces for Change. 
   

   
  As True Impact of Tariffs Remains Murky, Lens Manufacturers Strategize to Ensure Business Stability

By Sarah McGoldrick

For the second time in eight years, the optical industry is dealing with the fallout of proposed tariffs. On February 1, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would impose 10 percent tariffs on imported Chinese goods. This has prompted some labs in the lens manufacturing sector to begin strategic planning for when and if these tariffs occur.

Most optical lens manufacturers directly import lens blanks, production supplies and consumables from China, or from suppliers who source from China. Lenses imported from these regions are often used as low-cost alternatives to name-brand lenses and private-label products.

According to World Integrated Trade Solution, a trade software provided by the World Bank for users to query several international trade databases, in 2023, China exported more than 179,156,000 billion lenses globally, totaling more than $81 billion in optical lens exports. Of these exports, the U.S. imported more than $1.1 billion of lenses, totaling more than 1.5 billion lenses.


Jason Sharpe.
Though the true impact of tariffs remains unclear, optical lens manufacturers are taking steps to ensure business continuity. Jason Sharpe, president at Minnesota-based Eye-Kraft Optical, Inc., said that most labs are still trying to determine the next steps.

“Everyone is still in wait-and-see mode, creating their response strategies and figuring out where and how exactly they’ll be affected. In the short term, within the next 90 days or so, I don’t see much change happening. After that, if no adjustments are made to current policy, you’ll see prices rise across the board either as surcharges or general increases to cover costs,” he said.

He added that since tariffs are domestic taxes on consumer goods, these increases should be passed to the consumer, and that a corresponding increase in retail prices just about everywhere should be expected. “If this strategy seems to be a longer-term approach that will stick, buyers are going to start looking outside traditional optical markets, which have quite a bit of development to undergo to meet industry’s needs.”

Sharpe noted that optical labs are impacted by tariffs within two channels in a tariff situation, the first being the lens and prescription lab business, which he believes will be relatively untouched for the first year.

“Our membership in the Global Optics buying group shields us from lens price increases due to tariffs because our lens prices were negotiated and set before the announcement,” he said. (Global Optics is a lens supplier that handles price negotiations, inventory management, and order fulfillment for labs across the U.S.)

“Global holds vendors to that pricing throughout the year, which is an excellent benefit," he said. "If nothing changes in our foreign trade policy approach before 2026, we’ll be folding those increases into a general price increase next year and we will expect our retailers to pass the cost to the consumer where it belongs.”

 
The second channel Sharpe believes will be affected is the company’s frame business.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity the United States imported $3 billion in eyewear in 2022, solidifying its position as the largest importer of eyewear in the world, of which $1.12 billion is directly imported from China.

“Global Optique is our distributor, and most products in the price points we operate in are affected," he said. Sharpe believes that the industrywide response will be a general price increase to be passed on to the consumer, adding that he thinks Vision Expo will provide an opportunity for the industry to get a feel for what everyone else is doing. Following this, the industry should expect to see pricing announcements, he said.

The resulting price increase at the consumer level will require communication and education, in Sharpe’s opinion. He said retailers need to understand that these increases are a consumer tax and that consumers ultimately should bear the costs.

“We’ll be making sure any price changes are communicated clearly, are appropriate, and focused to address specific issues. We can help our customers plan for change and create strategies to handle any cost increases,” he concluded.


Adam Cherry.
Though the word tariff seems to be in the news almost daily, Adam Cherry, president of Wisconsin-based Cherry Optical Lab, said he understands how the undertaking of tariffs may impact the U.S. optical laboratory industry.

“For simplicity's sake, any significant increases in material costs will require laboratories to increase prices to maintain profitability. I don’t feel these increases would be dramatic as the cost of raw lens materials is relatively low and not the primary driver of a laboratory’s production costs as they used to be. I estimate we’re talking about dimes, nickels and quarters here and there, not dollars,” he said, adding that the biggest cost of goods and services in the industry now is royalty fees.

He noted that the recent pattern of legacy lens manufacturers increasing their royalty rates and lens prices will likely muddy the waters.

“If tariff-based cost increases are only driven by the raw material expense, the impact on U.S.-based optical laboratories will be minimal. This is where things get interesting for Cherry Optical Lab and most of the other independent laboratories manufacturing here, and even more so for the mega-corporations that dominate lens production in the U.S. market, but perhaps not for the same reasons,” he said.

From Cherry Optical Lab’s position, he said, the lab is insulated from potential lens material price increases in the short term due to its membership in Global Optics. “The lens vendors that work with Global Optics enter into an agreement wherein they submit pricing to be put into effect in February, which cannot be raised beyond that price until the following February,” he said.

Looking ahead, Cherry added the most intriguing part of tariffs for optical laboratories hits at the core conceptual, high-level benefits of tariffs, to encourage the production and manufacturing of products here in the United States.

Cherry stated that the prospect of the companies that shifted their production across the border having to deal with 25 percent price increases is intriguing to witness for those companies who haven’t left the country. He added that the tariff impact on finished or uncut lenses coming from Mexico and China would be massively more impactful than on the raw materials a U.S. manufacturer like Cherry Optical Lab will potentially have to deal with.

“I much prefer my position to theirs in this potential tariff war. The competitive landscape will be leveled just a bit, which is a breath of fresh air for U.S.-based, independent optical laboratories that manufacture, invest and employ Americans in America,” he said.