Nashville speaker maker plans to move overseas to avoid tariffs

The owner of a storied Nashville speaker company says he’ll pay lower taxes by moving overseas, rather than trying to build in the U.S.

It’s the opposite of what President Donald Trump wanted when he put in place the highest import taxes in nearly a century. Trump has encouraged businesses to avoid tariffs by making products in the U.S. He wants to see industries that have shifted production abroad come back.

Michael Jackson’s team used Auratone’s signature product – the legendary 5C Super Sound Cube – to get the mix just right on the 1982 album “Thriller,” the best-selling album of all time. Other artists use those speakers too, even Taylor Swift. Notably, Tom Elimhirst, who has won 16 Grammy Awards, uses the 5C at Electric Lady Studios in New York.

The company isn’t bringing production to Tennessee as part of a great re-shoring movement. Trump’s tariffs are pushing the small, family-owned business to move production overseas, where more of its sales won’t face tariffs, the company says.

Aurat...