Afina, a startup specializing in filtered showerheads, recently conducted a revealing experiment that exposed a major disconnect between American consumer ideals and actual purchasing behavior, especially in the context of U.S. manufacturing and trade tariffs.
In a controlled A/B test on their website, Afina offered two identical showerheads: one manufactured in Asia for $129, and one produced in the United States at a higher price of $239. Nearly 26,000 people visited the site during the test, and the results were striking, not a single customer purchased the U.S.-made product, while 584 units of the imported, lower-cost version were sold.
This test was designed not just to gauge sales performance, but to explore whether consumers are truly willing to “buy American” when given the option, especially if it costs significantly more. The answer, in this case, was a resounding no.
Without Industrial Investment, Tariffs Alone Will Failing U.S. Manufacturing
Founder Ramon van Meer said that the pricing disparity wasn’t arbitrary. The $239 price tag for the U.S.-manufactured showerhead reflected real production costs, higher labor, stricter compliance standards, and limited infrastructure for high-volume, cost-efficient consumer product manufacturing in the U.S.
And the situation is getting worse. The Biden administration has continued, and in some cases increased, tariffs that were introduced under the Trump administration. Specifically, tariffs on showerhead imports from countries like China and Vietnam have soared to as high as 170%. The intention behind these tariffs is to discourage reliance on foreign manufacturing and bring jobs back to the U.S. But van Meer argues that the effect is anything but constructive for small businesses.
“It’s not like there are warehouses and factories waiting to make affordable goods in the U.S.,” van Meer explained. “Tariffs are punishing small businesses that rely on overseas supply chains because we simply don’t have affordable domestic alternatives.”
How Small Businesses Are Punished for Trying to ‘Buy American’
For businesses like Afina, this creates a double bind: either absorb the cost of steep tariffs and take a hit on margins, or attempt to manufacture in the U.S. at significantly higher costs, only to find that customers won’t pay the difference. The Afina experiment starkly illustrates the latter problem, ideals like “Made in the USA” only go so far when faced with a price tag nearly double the alternative.
Tariffs are meant to give American manufacturers a competitive edge. But in reality, they’re often just another layer of burden for smaller brands who don’t have the economies of scale or capital to build domestic infrastructure from scratch. Large corporations can weather tariff fluctuations or negotiate favorable manufacturing terms. Startups, however, are left to either raise prices, lose profits, or fail entirely.
Tariffs Without Support Are Just a Tax on Small Business
Afina’s experience speaks to a larger issue in the American economy: there’s widespread public support for domestic manufacturing in theory, but not at the checkout screen. When not paired with aggressive investment in U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities, tariffs do more harm than good. They raise costs, punish small businesses, and fail to shift foreign manufacturing sites.
“We’d love to manufacture everything here in America,” van Meer said. “But the infrastructure simply isn’t there, and consumers have made it clear they won’t cover the gap.”
Until that gap is addressed, through policy, innovation, and consumer education, tariffs will continue to act less like a lever for reshoring and more like a tax on the businesses least equipped to bear them.