As the Trump administration begins rolling out its new tariff rates, effective Aug. 1 unless the countries decide to try to negotiate with the president, suppliers are now dealing with the new duties they could be paying on imported products.

From the beginning of the administration’s announcements of new tariffs, the belief was that many suppliers would need to increase prices. Pilot Corp. of America (asi/78110) sent out a letter to distributor partners announcing that its prices would increase effective Oct. 1.

“Over the last few years, our business has been impacted by increasing costs in areas including plastic materials, steel, chemicals, petroleum products, labor, medical and transportation,” Pilot Vice President of Sales Rachael Ramon said in the letter. “It is no longer possible for us to fully absorb the inflationary cost pressures we have been experiencing in combination with higher global tariffs, and we must therefore pass through a portion of these impacts.”

Due to the mix of tariffs as well as the Japanese Producer Price Index reaching a 30-year high in 2024, Pilot will implement price increases up to 7.2% on all purchase orders shipping on or after Oct. 1, 2025.

That date was chosen specifically to try to lighten the load of distributors who might be in the market for pens come early fall.

“Our intent is to work closely with our retailer and distributor partners to best protect our customers and consumers while adapting to these new realities,” Ramon said in the letter. “These measures include making the decision to delay implementation of price adjustments until after the peak back-to-school season.”

Ramon finished the letter by indicating that the company would continue to monitor shifting tariff policies, as there is always the possibility for things to change. In the meantime, the delayed price increase will benefit distributors whose customers are in the education market.