Tariffs, Trump & ‘Teasers’: How World Trade Politics Are Reshaping the Pilates World
Why international politics may be influencing what Pilates reformer you’re teaching on… and when it arrives.
Politics Meets Pilates
While most Pilates professionals spend their time focused on technique, teaching and client care, global economics has a way of creeping into our studios. One such economic ripple, now growing into a wave, is the return of aggressive tariff policy under Donald Trump’s political resurgence.
With the U.S. president focussed on protectionism and already signalling a full-scale reimplementation of tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese imports, the Pilates industry is once again feeling the pinch and it’s not just China in the firing line.
This article explores the current tariff implications, and its consequences for Pilates instructors, studio owners and equipment manufacturers across the U.S., UK, Europe and beyond.
The 145% Tariff Wall: China's Equipment Blocked at the U.S. Border
Trump’s 145% tariff on Chinese-made imports, reinstated and enforced aggressively as of early 2025, has had a devastating effect on the viability of Chinese-manufactured Pilates equipment in the U.S.
Who’s affected:
Align-Pilates, which manufactures largely in China (though it does not target the U.S. market as a priority).
Generic Chinese brands and OEM suppliers, many of whom served private-label clients in North America.
Any international or U.S. brand with Chinese OEM involvement, including parts of Merrithew and Peak Pilates’ metal reformer lines and some of Balanced Body apparatus and most of the Pilates studio accessories imported from China.
In effect, the American Pilates customer is now restricted almost entirely to U.S.-assembled equipment, such as that from Balanced Body, Peak Pilates (wooden range), and BASI Systems.
Ironically, this has not brought down prices for the USA Pilates Instructor and studio owner, quite the opposite. Although manufactured domestically, many components for U.S.-made Pilates apparatus (springs, wheels, tension systems, aluminium) are still sourced from China, and these parts do carry tariffs, pushing up prices even for U.S. brands.
Merrithew: A Brand Straddling Two Tariff Fronts
Merrithew, the Canadian company behind the STOTT Pilates brand, is in a particularly challenging position.
While headquartered in Toronto and with some lines made in Canada, Merrithew’s most popular range by volume, the SPX® Reformer, is manufactured in China. This means the company faces two overlapping trade barriers:
145% U.S. tariff on Chinese equipment, making the SPX range effectively unsellable in the U.S.
25% tariff on Canadian imports, which hampers the competitiveness of Merrithew’s Canada-made equipment in their single largest market.
The result is that Merrithew, once dominant in North American studios and physio clinics, is seeing a shift in U.S. purchasing behaviour toward domestic brands.
However, to make up for lost volume, Merrithew is becoming more aggressive in pricing and support outside the U.S. Studios in the UK, EU, Australia and the Middle East may find more competitive terms, discounts, or incentives as the company looks to maintain global turnover.
BASI Systems: Turkey’s Strategic Window
BASI Systems, the apparatus division with a licencing agreement with the BASI Pilates school, manufactures in Turkey, a country now facing a 10% U.S. tariff on fitness-related machinery.
This is lower than the China and Canada penalties, giving BASI Systems a small strategic advantage in retaining its U.S. customer base. However, even a 10% surcharge on BASI’s already high-cost equipment adds noticeable cost, and the company may need to adjust price points or promote local distributors more heavily to stay competitive in U.S. markets.
European Brands: Tariff Tensions Rising
European manufacturers, especially those producing high-spec classical or contemporary apparatus in Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe, now face a 20% U.S. tariff under expanded Trump-era trade policies targeting EU goods.
Global Supply Chain Reversal
The net effect of these tariffs is a global supply chain that now looks inward, not outward. Here's what’s happening:
In the U.S. :
Studios are ordering almost exclusively from U.S. brands, due to prohibitive costs on imported alternatives.
Factories are stretched, prioritising domestic demand over export, which reduces availability for European and international distributors.
Outside the U.S. :
Chinese OEMs and brands are scrambling to replace lost American volume, offering direct deals to studios, shipping as little as pallet quantities (rather than full containers).
Brands like Align-Pilates, which never focused on the U.S. market, may now gain further traction in territories like the UK, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, as their supply lines remain stable and competitively priced.
Distributors and indeed even studio owners in Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific are being approached more directly by Chinese factories offering bespoke branding and fast production turnarounds.
What Does This Mean for the Pilates Professional?
A Trade war with China is particularly disruptive to global Pilates Apparatus supply
Whether you're a studio owner, instructor or education provider, these geopolitical developments will touch you. Here’s how:
Expect longer waits and higher prices for certain equipment ranges, especially those relying on U.S. or Chinese supply.
Use this time to re-evaluate your supplier relationships, regional distributors may become more responsive as they look to secure new business outside the U.S.
Be cautious with unbranded direct imports, few Chinese manufacturers meet CE, ISO or durability standards expected in professional Pilates environments but virtually all state that they do.
Stay informed, tariffs are a political tool, and a new administration could lift or replace them quickly, shifting the market again.
A Time to Be Nimble
Tariffs may seem like a distant issue for instructors and studio owners, but when they influence what you can buy, when you can get it, and how much it costs, they become highly relevant.
The Trump-era trade war has reconfigured the global Pilates equipment landscape, favouring domestic U.S. brands in their home market, while opening new opportunities and challenges for European, Canadian, Turkish and Chinese suppliers elsewhere.
Whether you're upgrading your studio, advising students, or importing on behalf of a training centre, the next few months and maybe years will require nimble decision-making and awareness of international dynamics.
Author: Chris Onslow - Pilates Consultant
Chris Onslow, has run Pilates focussed businesses since 1998. He and his team specialise in supporting Pilates entrepreneurs and business owners. With a rich history of owning and running successful Pilates studios in the UK, and supporting others in Europe and the Middle East, Chris has broad expertise in maximising profitability and optimising operational efficiency. His agency provides top-tier advice on selecting new, pre-owned, and hireable Pilates equipment from renowned brands such as Align-Pilates, Balanced Body or Stott-Pilates/Merrithew. As the founder of Mbodies Training Academy, Chris continues to revolutionise Pilates education, offering premier online and hybrid CPD and qualification courses for Pilates apparatus instruction and special population CPD.