Trump has temporarily delayed his decision to impose tariffs on over $300 billion in Chinese goods but, if he goes through with it -- and I expect he eventually will -- he may kill the holy Bible along with the global trade market.
Bible publishers say China prints the majority of America's Bibles because printing them requires special equipment that was moved to China decades ago. They say Trump's tariffs would represent a "Bible Tax."
From CBS News:
Bibles are printed on "unusually thin paper" that requires specialized machines, Mark Schoenwald, president of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, said in testimony to the U. S. Trade Representative. Up to 75% of what it costs a publisher to make a Bible, with its complex illustrations and ultra-thin pages that make it portable, is spent in China and can't be handled elsewhere, according to Schoenwald.
"We believe the administration was unaware of the potential negative impact these proposed tariffs would have on the publishing industry generally, and that it never intended to impose a 'Bible Tax' on consumers and religious organizations," Schoenwald testified.
"U.S. printers moved their Bible printing facilities abroad decades ago, leaving no substantial domestic manufacturing alternatives," Schoenwald said.
If Schadenfreude were a drug, you could snort this.