If you think that Trump Guitars are “Made in USA”, think again. The patriotic line, which claims to be endorsed – although not owned – by President Trump, made waves in the guitar market last year after Gibson issued a cease-and-desist due to the models’ uncanny resemblance to its classic designs. Now, a new documentary appears to suggest that these guitars are being manufactured in China.
The CGTN documentary about the guitar manufacturing powerhouse of Zheng’an County, in the country’s Guizhou province, claims that Trump Guitars are allegedly being manufactured by Shenqu Guitars – a leading local enterprise that claims to export to over 40 countries and counts Fender and Ibanez among its clients.
“The US President Trump has used our guitar,” says Zheng Chuanjiu, the owner of Shenqu Guitars, as he shows the Trump Guitars website on his phone to the interviewer.
“During his campaign last year, there was a band contributing to his tour. They found us custom guitars for his tour. After his successful election, now we sell this kind of guitar in the US. We have once got an order with 12,000 guitars.”
The Trump Guitar models are all currently available to order, with the American Eagle series marketed as a limited-edition – each of the two models are limited to a thousand guitars, and in the case of autographed ones, to 275.
Prices range from $1,000 for the God Bless the USA guitar to $11,500 for the supposedly autographed American Eagle LP-style electric guitar. Quality-wise, YouTuber and guitar reviewer HW from ToneJunkie TV had compared the specs to a $250 to $300 guitar in terms of “quality control and the playability”.
While the Trump Guitars website doesn’t specify where the manufacturer is based, a statement in the F.A.Q. section does mention that “parts” are manufactured in the U.S. and internationally.
“All of the guitars featured on GetTrumpGuitars.com were custom designed and developed by a Veteran owned company with the help of a master luthier,” reads the statement.
“These guitars have been manufactured by multiple providers and include parts/features that are both domestic and international. This is standard with most guitar manufacturers.”
The potential new evidence of Trump Guitars’ China-based manufacturer comes amid an escalating trade war on goods coming from outside the States.
Trump has set a deadline for tomorrow to announce tariffs on a wide range of countries – possibly every country. Two rounds of additional 10% tariffs on goods from China were already implemented in February and March.
Furthermore, the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada in early March, later exempting goods that fall under the trade agreement, but this reprieve ends this week.
In response to these tariffs, Fender could see its operational costs rise by up to $25 million – primarily due to its production sites in Ensenada, Mexico, and China.
However, Fender isn’t the only guitar brand facing tariff-related challenges. According to a recent report by credit rating analyst Moody’s“China remains the largest global manufacturer of guitars by unit volume, and the musical instruments industry is already facing challenges such as weakening consumer confidence in the US and an economic slowdown in China.
“With limited options to quickly mitigate costs, tariffs are expected to significantly impact earnings, particularly in the entry and mid-tier segments of the market where competition is intense and the ability to pass on costs to consumers is constrained in an already high-priced market.”
Morgan Amps has also reported that the new tariffs are expected to add up to $1,000 to the price of its amp heads, while Electro-Harmonix has been repositioning its own strategy to avoid over-reliance on China.
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