July 4th fireworks could fizzle for America's 250th birthday if tariffs on Chinese goods don't fall

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(28 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Youngstown, Ohio – 25 June 2025
1. Various of Phantom Fireworks employees stocking shelves at one of the company’s retail stores
2. Various of a worker doing inventory near a sign featuring the Phantom Fireworks logo that reads (English) “Lighting Up Backyards of America from Coast to Coast”
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Weimer, Phantom Fireworks:
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
“Phantom is the top retail seller of fireworks in the United States. We have the largest chain of brick-and-mortar stores of any company in the country. …The biggest firework holiday in the country is the Fourth of July. That's where we do 90 percent of our business.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Clarksdale, Missouri – 1 July 2023
4. Fireworks explode in the sky

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: New York – 4 July 2017
5. Fireworks in the sky

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Youngstown, Ohio – 25 June 2025
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Weimer, Phantom Fireworks:
++FULLY COVERED++
“I don't think there's an American alive who can think of the Fourth of July without thinking about fireworks.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Warren, Ohio – 25 June 2025
7. Various of stacks of boxes filled with fireworks at a Phantom Fireworks warehouse that read (English) “Made In China”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Youngstown, Ohio – 25 June 2025
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Weimer, Phantom Fireworks:
++FULLY COVERED++
“We get 99% of our fireworks from China. Our competitors do the same.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Warren, Ohio – 25 June 2025
9. Various of activity at the warehouse

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Youngstown, Ohio – 25 June 2025
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Weimer, Phantom Fireworks:
++FULLY COVERED++
“Phantom has been very gently impacted by the current wave of tariffs that have been instituted. We had probably 70, 75 percent of our products already in the United States when those tariffs were imposed. … We have maybe 30 percent that are coming in since then. We've already paid some tariffs. So, on about 30 percent of our products, there's going to be some effect in the price. We're not going to pass all of it on to the consumers.”
11. Various of the exterior of the retail location
12. Various of customer Peggy Senich checking out
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Peggy Senich, fireworks shopper:
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
“It's the same. I thought it was going to be a little bit higher because of all the tariffs, but it's really just the same.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Warren, Ohio – 25 June 2025
14. A forklift driver transports a pallet of fireworks boxes into a storage bay

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Youngstown, Ohio – 25 June 2025
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Weimer, Phantom Fireworks:
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
“And our only salvation, honestly, is an exemption. If the prices go up, the prices go up for everyone. … We're going to skate this year. In 2025, the consumers will largely pay what they paid last year, but we will not escape it if the trade war continues and the tariffs continue through, into 2026.”
16. A sign at the store informs shoppers of a sale
17. An employee bags up some of Senich’s items
18. A sign at the exit asks customers to (English) “Come Again”
19. Two workers walk from the showroom into the storage area in the back
STORYLINE:
Fireworks are as American as apple pie. The colorful displays are synonymous with celebrating the country's independence.

But nearly all of those aerial shells, paper rockets and sparkly fountains are imported from China.










Weimer already is looking ahead to next year, when the nation will celebrate its 250th birthday.






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