MINNESOTA — Cambria Chief Executive Marty Davis has petitioned the administration of President Donald Trump to impose additional tariffs on imported quartz, arguing that foreign competitors are undercutting U.S. manufacturers. Davis, who owns and runs the privately held Minnesota company that manufactures quartz used for kitchen and bathroom countertops, has repeatedly and successfully asked the U.S. government to impose additional duties on the material.

In a petition to the U.S. government, Cambria and other domestic manufacturers argued that the governments of China, India and other countries are ignoring U.S. trade laws and flooding the U.S. market with artificially cheap quartz products. The final decision on whether to impose additional tariffs on quartz lies with Trump.

"Free and fair trade has to prevail, or the American manufacturer will be gone, and these jobs will leave. And they are jobs that really promote a healthy middle class," Davis said. He also addressed the nature of the competition: "It's so unfair when you have to compete against a foreign government, not another company."

The Davis family founded Cambria in 1999. The $500 million company employs roughly 1,800 people and is the top U.S. manufacturer of quartz countertops. Cambria mines raw quartz in powder and pebble form in Canada and ships it to its Minnesota factory, where it is mixed and shaped into quartz slabs. It sells its countertops to luxury hotels, private residences and customers at Home Depot.

Some U.S. homeowners purchase cheaper quartz countertops made from imported slabs that are mined and manufactured abroad, then cut and sold in the U.S. by companies such as Marble Uniques. The Indiana-based fabricator has joined an industry coalition opposing Cambria's request for quartz tariffs.

Kyle Keck, general manager for Marble Uniques, said he did not believe that his customers would absorb the full cost of the tariffs and that he could potentially see a loss of jobs overall. "Very few of us have the time or the resources to advocate on a political level. It certainly feels like these larger corporations are kind of cornering that market," Keck said.

MS International, a California-based distributor that sells quartz and other home-design materials, helped organize opposition to Cambria's latest tariff request. One of Cambria's largest competitors, MS International reports approximately $2.5 billion in annual sales, about five times Cambria's annual sales. Cambria and its competitors have each claimed that they are seeking to protect more than 100,000 U.S. jobs in the quartz industry, and both sides have hired law firms and communications agencies to advocate for their positions with the U.S. government and the public.

Davis has hosted fundraisers for Trump, including a $100,000-per-person event in 2020 shortly before Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis. He has also invested in Trump Media and Technology Group, the president's social-media company.