President Donald Trump’s recent reinstatement of a 25-percent tariff on imported steel sent shockwaves across multiple industries, including hemp and cannabis extraction and processing. While many players in the space are scrambling to adjust, Trump’s move reinforces what we’ve known all along: American-made equipment is the key to long-term success.
For years, the cannabis extraction equipment market has been flooded with cheap, foreign-manufactured systems, primarily from China. Many equipment manufacturers source their stainless-steel pressure vessels, fittings, and components overseas, benefiting from lower costs at the expense of quality, reliability, and compliance.
Now, with Trump’s tariffs in effect, these manufacturers face rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and uncertain delivery timelines. Manufacturing and sourcing critical components overseas is no longer the cost-saving strategy it once was. Instead, it’s a liability.
From erratic shipping delays to inconsistent steel grades and undocumented materials, companies relying on imported hardware are about to find themselves boxed in by regulatory demands they can no longer afford to ignore.
Why U.S.-made extraction equipment is a smart long-term investment
Domestic manufacturing protects your bottom line
While competitors scramble to adjust to tariffs, American manufacturers remain insulated from sudden cost spikes, ensuring stable pricing for customers. When you build domestically, you control your costs. Tariffs don’t throw off the bottom line or derail customer timelines.
Meet FDA standards with documented, traceable materials
As the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) moves toward rescheduling cannabis and state regulatory bodies shift their focus to consumer safety and compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), processors will be held to the same material documentation standards as pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Reduce delays and disruptions with local supply chains
By sourcing and building domestically, companies can avoid the logistical nightmares that plague overseas shipping: customs bottlenecks, freight congestion, and unpredictable lead times.
Benefit from local support and real-time service
When something goes wrong with a pressure vessel or valve, having a supplier in a different time zone with a language barrier and a three-week wait time for parts presents a distinct disadvantage. American-made products come with local customer support, faster part replacements, and real service warranties. That’s peace of mind you can’t put a price on.
Future-proof your operation for FDA and federal compliance
In an industry inching toward Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation much like food, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals endure, consumer safety is more than a checkbox — it’s a moral imperative and a business necessity. Most foreign-built extraction systems lack critical elements like certified welding procedures, full material test reports, and proper pressure vessel certifications under the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ standards. One critical, yet often overlooked, aspect of equipment quality is heat number traceability — a system that links each piece of stainless steel back to its original batch at the steel mill.
Responsible manufacturers back their components with certified material test reports that verify chemical composition and mechanical properties. This ensures processors know exactly what materials are in contact with their cannabis oil — eliminating the risks of contamination from uncertified alloys or inferior metals. Foreign-manufactured systems often lack this level of documentation, which not only jeopardizes consumer safety but could become a dealbreaker under future FDA or heightened state-level scrutiny.
In the long run, hemp and cannabis oil processors using noncompliant foreign equipment risk everything from product recalls and consumer-safety lawsuits to facility shutdowns and license revocations. Processors using noncompliant equipment may save a few bucks up front, but it could cost them millions when regulators come knocking.
With the United States industry on the brink of DEA rescheduling, the stakes are higher than ever. Pharmaceutical companies are gearing up to enter the cannabis space, and they can’t work with labs or suppliers using uncertified, foreign-built equipment. For a cannabis processor to position itself as a future pharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization (CMO) or contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), equipment must meet — or exceed — pharmaceutical-grade GMP standards.
American-made systems already are built to these well-established FDA standards.
Beyond tariffs: Why regulatory readiness matters more than ever
Trump’s steel tariffs aren’t just a short-term cost factor; they’re a strategic wake-up call to the cannabis industry. For too long, companies have taken the “good enough” approach with their extraction infrastructure, prioritizing low costs over long-term value. But as regulations tighten, consumer expectations rise, and global supply chains grow more volatile, those shortcuts are beginning to show cracks.
This isn’t just about steel. It’s about how to build a business from the ground up based on values, vision, risk tolerance, and readiness for the industry’s next chapter. Forward-looking processors and manufacturers already are moving to American-made equipment. They understand the long game:
- They don’t want their capital equipment investment tied to a supply chain they can’t control.
- They don’t want to retrofit their facilities to meet stricter new regulations.
- They don’t want to be the company issuing a product recall over contaminated oil.
What they do want is traceability, reliability, and credibility. They want to walk into a licensing inspection — or a pharma partnership meeting — with confidence that their infrastructure speaks for itself.
For processors serious about growth, compliance, and long-term viability, equipment made in the USA is not a luxury. It’s a necessity. From steel traceability and GMP readiness to consumer safety and post-sale support, domestic manufacturing delivers value across every dimension of the business.
Companies that built their business on outsourcing to China are now paying the price — literally and figuratively. Trump’s tariffs didn’t change the game. They just exposed who’s been playing it right all along.
A seasoned attorney, entrepreneur, and industry pioneer in hemp and cannabis extraction technology, Prodigy Processing Solutions founder and CEO Marc Beginin is a firm believer in the quality of American-made products. He has been instrumental in shaping extraction industry standards, advocating for regulatory compliance, and driving innovation in cannabinoid processing.
