Marty Davis built Cambria from a family enterprise into the leading U.S. maker of engineered quartz countertops. The company sells high-end slabs made in Minnesota and has helped make quartz a mainstream material for kitchens and bathrooms. But Davis — a prominent Republican donor with ties to former President Trump — has also become the center of a fierce industry fight over tariffs that many competitors and small businesses say is reshaping the market and raising costs for homeowners.
Cambria argues that foreign producers, backed in some cases by government support, have flooded the U.S. market with artificially cheap imported quartz slabs. Those imports, Cambria says, undercut domestic manufacturers and threaten American jobs. Over the past several years the company successfully persuaded the U.S. International Trade Commission to impose penalties and duties on shipments from particular countries. Most recently, Cambria and other domestic producers asked for a sweeping “global safeguard” that would apply tariffs and quotas to quartz imports from nearly every source.
Last month the trade commission ruled for the petitioners and recommended tariffs of up to 40% on imported quartz slabs for a four-year period, plus limits on import volumes. Those recommendations now go to the president, who will decide whether to accept or reject them. Supporters of safeguards see the outcome as a way to protect domestic manufacturing and sustain middle-class jobs in factories and fabricators.
But the petition and the commission’s recommendation have ignited a broad coalition of opposition. Large distributors, independent fabricators, installers, home builders and many small, family-run shops that cut and install imported slabs say the proposed tariffs would sharply raise their costs. Those businesses — some of which source material mainly from overseas — warn they will have to pass higher prices to consumers or face layoffs and closures. The coalition opposing the tariffs has hired lawyers and communications firms and has launched public campaigns highlighting potential job losses and higher housing costs.
“For small fabricators and local countertop shops, this isn’t an abstract policy fight,” says one owner whose business relies on imported slabs. “If the material costs jump, our customers won’t absorb all of it. That means fewer projects and fewer employees.”
A key flashpoint in the debate is Davis himself. Critics point to his long-standing political support for Trump — high-dollar fundraisers, campaign contributions, and disclosed investments in the former president’s ventures — and say those ties give Cambria an unfair edge in lobbying for protection. Opponents frame the fight as an example of crony capitalism: that companies with political access are more likely to score favorable trade rulings while smaller competitors and consumers absorb the consequences.
Davis rejects that characterization. He frames his appeals to the government as a defense of American manufacturing and of “free and fair trade.” He notes that Cambria’s petitions have won support from both parties at different times, including testimony from Democratic senators and past decisions by agencies under multiple administrations. Davis says the company’s actions respond to what it sees as illegitimate pricing practices abroad.
The petitions themselves follow a well-trodden path in U.S. trade policy. Domestic industries — from steel to aluminum and beyond — have long used petitions to U.S. trade agencies to seek relief from cheaper imports. Trade experts note this process often produces protectionist measures that benefit some domestic producers while raising costs elsewhere in the economy.
Beyond the pricing and politics, the quartz industry faces other serious controversies. Workers who cut and fabricate engineered stone are at risk of severe respiratory disease from silica dust, and the industry has seen mounting health and safety scrutiny. Manufacturers and trade groups are also seeking legal protections and limits on liability tied to those workplace illnesses, adding another layer of complexity to an industry already wrestling with price, safety and supply-chain questions.
The quartz dispute illustrates a broader national debate about tariffs and trade policy. Some U.S. manufacturers and workers say recent tariff actions restore competitiveness and protect jobs. Many builders, distributors and consumers counter that added duties increase costs across construction and home-improvement projects, worsening affordability at a time when housing costs are already under pressure.
The immediate stakes are clear: a presidential decision will determine whether higher duties and quotas reshape the supply of quartz in the U.S. market. If the tariffs are imposed, domestic producers like Cambria could gain price advantages; importers, fabricators and many smaller installers say they would face tougher margins and potential layoffs. The quarrel over quartz thus serves as a small but revealing example of how trade policy, political influence and local economies intersect — and how a single industry fight can feed larger questions about who benefits and who pays when governments use tariffs as an economic tool.