USA potential new tariffs against China

[chrisash]

Just seen the new list of potential 25% tariffs issued by the USA yesterday, seems to virtually encompass every thing China makes including leather and leather goods

https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/301Investigations/May_2019_Proposed_Modification.pdf

[Alisdair]

...I'd like too grab a bucket of popcorn and sit back to watch and laugh as this trade war unfolds.

Unfortunately, these things have consequences, lives and livelihoods are at stake: things that are beyond the comprehension of the people doing the sabre rattling (on both sides).

[kgg]

It is going to be very interesting to see what happens as people/manufacturers become whelped off the less expensive materials/products from China that for a lot of items have a short serviceable life span. Everything from a simple screw to highly technical equipment. What ever happened to washers that lasted 15 years not 5 years? With the tariffs increasing I would guess some company's will move their manufacturing to the US or other countries not effected / less effected by the tariffs while some other products/materials will just be sourced from other non/lesser tariffed countries.

Personally I like to source materials/products made in my own province where possible, then the rest of Canada, then the US and then I move on from there.

Example I needed a 100 running yards of 5' wide Sherpa in a particular weight, density and with a particular stiffness to the back. No manufacturers left in Canada, cost way to prohibitive in the US with only two manufacturers left and the Chinese material was of much lesser quality then what I would consider. I considered the Chinese material as a one of use then throw it away type product.  My supplier tracked down a South American supplier that meet what I wanted at a reasonable price, costing less then the US product and much more then the Chinese.

Sometimes purchasing products made in Canada can be frustrating as sometimes they are cheaper to buy in the US. Example is a gas tank for my friends Toyota 4x4 with the replacement tank made in Quebec. It was cheaper to purchase the Quebec made tank in upper New York State, tagged as made in Quebec, even with paying the higher rate of exchange, duty and transporting it back to Canada.  Go figure.

kgg

 

[chrisash]

On the other hand the US companies have always given us brits a bit of a rip off price, selling something made in US for say $100 and charge us in the UK £100-110, Taxes and shipping dont make up the difference alone, companies like Apple do it all the time yet goods are made in China, so prices should be the same

Edited May 14, 2019 by chrisash

[YinTx]

7 hours ago, chrisash said:

On the other hand the US companies have always given us brits a bit of a rip off price, selling something made in US for say $100 and charge us in the UK £100-110, Taxes and shipping dont make up the difference alone, companies like Apple do it all the time yet goods are made in China, so prices should be the same

This doesn't make sense.  Why would we want to charge a higher price?  This would cause our sales to go down.  This is the reason countries place a tariff on goods:  so that other countries have a harder time selling there, and cause the consumer to buy local.  In other words, it isn't the company charging more, but the country the item is being sold in adding fees and tariffs/taxes.  In order for the company to make the same margin, they end price is higher.  This is what folks in the US are upset about:  other countries charging high taxes/tariffs on goods from here, while we have not always done so on goods imported to here. We have been swamped with low cost subsidized goods (how else can I buy an item for $0.01 with free shipping from China on Ebay?) driving local business out of business - I can't even ship an item across the city in an envelope for less than $0.48.  Now when we place tariffs on imported goods, the world gets upset.  Go figure.  

I think in a decent free market, take out all the gov't manipulations etc, it would all settle into a happy medium.  But, sadly, everyone wants the upper hand and do what they will to get there.

YinTx

[fredk]

8 hours ago, chrisash said:

On the other hand the US companies have always given us brits a bit of a rip off price, selling something made in US for say $100 and charge us in the UK £100-110, Taxes and shipping dont make up the difference alone, companies like Apple do it all the time yet goods are made in China, so prices should be the same

aye, I've always found the same.

Whenever I needed something made in the US, or for US companies, it was often very much cheaper and sometimes quicker to obtain it from a US retailer than a UK based US supplier

eg. camera lens, made in Korea for a US company. about £1500 in the UK, imported from Honest Abe in New York, including s & h and all UK taxes £350. Delivery from Honest Abe; 4 days, from UK supplier estimated at 3 months. UK supplier was a US based professional photographic dealer for whom the lens was made.

Edited May 14, 2019 by fredk

[kgg]

Free trade is not the same as fair trade. When a country has a lower wage to create a product/service then the designation country the exporting company from that country has an unfair advantage. With China I would suspect the average wage is probably about 1/4 or less of that paid in the US or Canada for any particular industry. Free trade I think could be even worst if it was strictly up to the free market to sort out. There still needs to be checks and balances in place to offset standard of living discrepancies to put everyone on a level playing field.

Look at what happened in the textile / garment industry for all tense and purposes it was destroyed in North America.

kgg