Byrna Technologies Inc. CEO Bryan Ganz has been "pleased" with some of the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs on imports, as they have made it more difficult for Chinese competitors to sell "inferior knockoffs" to U.S. consumers at low prices.
"People's lives are at stake when they use our device," Ganz told Fox News Digital. "I'm not sure why people would buy a cheap product when it comes to saving their lives. … With President Trump's tariffs of 60% or 120% or 140% on these Chinese products, they can no longer sell these for prices below our cost to make the product."
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Byrna Technologies Inc. — which creates non-lethal firearms and has a production facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana — had more than $100 million in sales in the last 12 months. The company has sold more than 650,000 self-defense products, which have been used over 5,000 times to prevent crimes like carjackings and home invasions, Ganz said.
The company reshored its manufacturing significantly after realizing that U.S. President Donald Trump would likely impose considerable tariffs if he were to be elected for a second term, he said.
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"So a year and a half ago, we probably were producing about 34% of our components in the U.S. and 66% overseas," Ganz said. "… Over the last year and a half, we have moved production back to the United States so that 92% of our supply chain today is domestic, and only 8% is from countries outside the U.S."
While most of Byrna Technologies' products are now American-made, a portion of its products are still imported from China. When these products were hit with significant tariffs — such as the 145% tariff placed on all Chinese imports in April — Ganz said that some Chinese companies "ate a significant portion" of the costs.
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"A lot of Chinese companies are now quoting their prices in DDP — delivery duty paid," he said. "So they are in fact absorbing the payment of these tariffs, and I think most people don't really understand that."
"As you can see with the deals that are being cut, they are sensible, reasonable tariff structures," Ganz said. "And it really is a win-win situation."
In April, Trump announced a "reciprocal" tariff policy under which U.S. tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries would be based on the size of America's bilateral trade deficit with those countries.
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Fourteen countries have been given until Aug. 1 to negotiate trade deals with the Trump administration or risk the imposition of higher tariffs. China has until Aug. 12 to reach an agreement with the U.S., according to Reuters.
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