New bill provides a potential tailwind for domestic bike production.

There is some big news on the tariff front for the cycling industry. A bipartisan bill was introduced to Congress that would eliminate tariffs on components that are used for bicycle manufacturing and assembly.

The goal of this bill is to incentivize domestic bike manufacturers by lowering the relative cost of bringing a bike to market in the U.S. This is because overseas manufacturers will be required to pay tariffs on complete bikes that are imported into the U.S., while domestic manufacturers will not be required to pay these tariffs on the complete bikes, the raw materials, or components.

In theory, it is exciting for the long-term outlook for U.S. production of bikes. However, companies will take time to invest in changes in production and supply chains. Furthermore, I would speculate that many companies will have questions about the longevity of the current tariff situation. I would be hesitant to spend money to increase domestic production without a guarantee that the tariffs will remain in place long enough to see a return on the investment.

While it is positive that lawmakers are spending time discussing the future of bicycles in the U.S., I would rather see lawmakers supporting the cycling industry by incentivizing bike riding by doing things like incentivizing cycling infrastructure and commuting by bikes.

These initiatives would be multifaceted, with benefits extending beyond the cycling industry. With the incentivizing of infrastructure, for example, in addition to the larger spend in the cycling industry, there would be economic stimulus with the construction of the infrastructure itself. Furthermore, the roads would be less crowded, meaning that there would be emissions benefits from people utilizing the paths, and a smaller impact on the wear of the roads. Not to mention an improvement in the physical health of the users of this infrastructure, lessening the burden on our highly stressed medical systems.

In short, I think this bill is a win for the cycling industry here in the U.S. Although, I am skeptical of how much actual impact we will see from the changes that may be implemented. I believe that we should be trying to create intensives to grow the cycling community here in the U.S. This will create U.S. jobs in the cycling industry, while at the same time having benefits that could be felt by the lager population as well. For now at least, our industry is being considered by the lawmakers at the highest level of our government, and that is a good thing.