Under the Shadow of Tariff Coercion, JinQi Toys’ U.S. 3D Printing Orders Gradually Return

How Have U.S. Tariff Policies Impacted the Production of 3D-Printed Toys?

According to Panda3dp.com, on the evening of April 23, 2025, CCTV’s Oriental Horizon aired a report titled “Yiwu, Zhejiang: Adapting to Change, Expanding Horizons Worldwide”. The program revealed that tariff coercion has significantly affected domestic businesses in the United States, particularly those dealing in toy and wedding supply sales. Yiwu, Zhejiang — known as the world's largest distribution hub for small commodities — is also a primary source for these products. Within Yiwu’s International Trade District One, thousands of toy shops are clustered together, their shelves adorned with an array of 3D-printed dinosaurs and dolls of all shapes and forms. As soon as business opens each day, buyers from around the globe flood in, with the afternoon seeing a continuous stream of international merchants.

Lv Xulian, the proprietor of the 3D printing enterprise JinQi Toys, once relied heavily on exports to the United States. However, half of those orders have now been diverted to other international markets.

JinQi Toys shared with CCTV that their initial surge in 3D-printed toy sales began with the United States, subsequently attracting customers from other countries. Now, the proportion of American orders has gradually decreased, while orders from neighboring nations have risen. Where once U.S. clients accounted for 70 to 80 percent of their business, today, half of those orders have shifted to other regions.

△JinQi Toys’ 3D printing farm, currently housing several thousand 3D printers

△3D-printed snake

The continuous increase in U.S. tariffs has inevitably impacted order volumes. Some American clients have requested shipment delays, prompting JinQi Toys to proactively diversify their product lines — adding categories such as accessories and handicrafts to broaden their market reach.

Simultaneously, the company has intensified its efforts to expand into European and South American markets. Through this comprehensive strategy, the adverse effects of U.S. tariff hikes have been largely mitigated. In recent days, even those American clients who had been cautiously observing the situation have begun urging for deliveries and placing fresh orders. The reason is simple — without goods on their shelves, 3D-printed toy shops in the United States have nothing to offer consumers. Despite the added tariffs, these costs are ultimately passed on to end customers, allowing business to continue.

JinQi Toys also recently informed Panda3dp.com that they have acquired a new 9,000-square-meter factory, launching a 2.0 iteration of their 3D printing farm, which will house several thousand additional 3D printers dedicated to toy production. “There’s simply too much demand. If we don’t expand, we’ll be overwhelmed by orders,” they explained.

As early as March of this year, during the 2025 Asia TCT Exhibition, Panda3dp.com conducted an exclusive interview with JinQi Toys. As one of the largest 3D printing farm operators both in China and worldwide, the company revealed plans to expand its capacity to 8,000 3D printers by April for toy production alone. Furthermore, it forecasted that within the next five years, the global total of 3D printers dedicated to such farms would surge to 15 million units—a development poised to fundamentally transform the traditional toy manufacturing industry.