As world leaders react to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, heads of religious organizations are mostly missing from the debate.
But that doesn’t mean the tariffs won’t hold consequences for faith groups: Religious leaders are preparing to deal with everything from congregants facing financial challenges to higher prices on Bibles.
Canadian churches respond to tariffs
The Canadian Council of Churches reflected on that first challenge in an Ash Wednesday statement about rising political tensions between Canada and the United States, which referenced a possible trade war.
Leaders from a variety of Catholic and Protestant traditions came together to write the message of comfort and peace.
“As we begin the Season of Lent this year, we are aware that many Canadians are carrying a heavy load of worry, fear and uncertainty about the future,” the March 5 message said. “We are grateful for our political leaders who are seeking out every avenue to avert a costly trade war. We pray for their wisdom and courage in the face of what some may regard as unwarranted aggression.”
Catholic position on tariffs
In the U.S., the Catholic magazine America responded to the first wave of tariffs by interviewing a Jesuit leader about Catholic teachings on trade policy.
Stephen Pitts argued in the interview that Catholics should be concerned about what tariffs do to human dignity.
“Ideally, we must help the developing world in ways that develop their local economies. Giving those countries access for their goods and services to markets in the developing world is a good way to do that,” he argued.
Tariffs and Bible prices
Faith leaders may get more involved in the tariff debate as its impact on Bible prices becomes more clear. Trump’s tariffs on China, which will increase next week, could disrupt Bible sales in the U.S.
Most Bibles sold in the U.S. are printed in China due to the country’s specialized approach to producing the holy book, according to Christianity Today.
As of 2019, “the publishing arm of America’s largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, (spent) 31 percent of its total printing costs in China,” the article said.
When Trump imposed a 10% tariff on China during his first term, there was enough of an outcry over what it would mean for Bible costs that the Trump administration exempted Bibles from the list of affected products.
In February, a White House official told Ministry Watch that a Bible exemption is not expected under the new tariffs.