Bibles may fall victim to Trump's trade war with China

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - The ongoing trade war between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could cause Bible shortage, according to American publishers.

CNN Business reported the majority of American publishers that print the Bible have to do it in China, because the large size of the book requires special machinery not yet developed in the U.S.

The word count of the average bible is roughly 800,000 words, and it requires the text to be printed on very thin pages.

HarperCollins Christian Publishing, a leading Bible publisher in the U.S., said that three-fourths of its Bible production takes place in China, according to CNN.

The 25% tariff would "seriously and disproportionately damage our business and our customers," HarperCollins told the news broadcaster.

The publishing company's CEO Mark Schoenwald had sent a letter to Trump's top trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, saying that the potential tariffs would lead to a Bible tax for individuals and religious institutions, and has asked the administration that the Bible and other religious items be exempt from the tariffs.

HarperCollins owns the two largest Bible publisher in the U.S., Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, which hold 38% of the American Bible market, according to Schoenwald.

The U.S. and China have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each other's goods, and Trump threatened to impose duties on $300 billion worth of additional of Chinese imports in May after trade negotiations faltered that month without a long-sought deal.

Last month, some 600 American retailers, farmers, and manufacturers, which include Walmart and Levi Strauss, signed a letter urging Trump to forego levies on Beijing amid the ongoing trade war between the two countries.