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White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

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Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#51

Post by dv_dt »

hangonhn wrote: post #36
vtange wrote: post #13

A lot of argument against tariffs seems to assume that prices in the US will rise and stay increased permanently assuming production stays in China. Wouldn't the downsides of tariffs actually only remain until production moves to say, Vietnam, etc.?

No. It's not that easy to move. Factories don't work in isolation. One of the major advantages of China is that all the suppliers are located very close to each other so you can get very fast turn arounds. Some people have the mistaken notion that it's only because of cheaper labor, which is only partly true. But in the area where a lot of the manufacturing is happening, Shenzhen, labor cost isn't that cheap because…

This is similar to the the original dynamic that allowed Silicon Valley to be Silicon Valley and produce ICs, then computers, home computers and game consoles, etc.

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#52

Post by EpicEng »

anon23423532 wrote: post #48

It's punishment for stealing hundreds of billions of dollars of IP, illegally subsidizing businesses to steal market share, and general national security by not outsourcing knowledge and infrastructure critical to national security to save a few bucks. It's easy to let someone push you back inch by inch instead of fighting back, but eventually you're on the edge of a cliff and have nowhere else to go. I'd take short…

I don't know why you're being downvoted; China absolutely does all of those things. They are not playing fair in the global market and never have. One can debate whether or not the tariff is the right approach, but let's not pretend that China is a victim.

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#53

Post by delbel »

Here is the list https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/301Investig...

Tractors, fork lifts, agricultural equipment

Lathes

Milling Machines

LED's

Lithium batteries

Touch screen

Not a lot of electrical "tech" goods besides these three above, maybe PCB and GPS equipment.

About the tractors, milling machines, and lathe. I like this, because the new products that are available ... are chinese crap. But they are so cheaply made, and impossible to fix. Every small farmer knows you want an old one, and rebuilt. They built the Massey Ferguson 35 , which came out I think in 1955, made up until 2002 a great small 44hp tractor. You want a new small tractor, it'll come from India or China and it'll break down fast with electrical issues. Maybe not a Japanese one, however. I was asking my mechanic why we don't just start building the old ones here, they said they just can't compete. It would be great if we started making them here again. The same goes for Lathe and Milling machine, if you want a good one, you need to find "old iron" and rebuild it (if it needs it). It doesn't appear that CNC parts are on this list, so you can still buy cheap chinese CNC parts to upgrade it.

The other stuff on the list, coincidentally, I am very interested in. Basically I am getting into hemp products and wanted to, at a hobbist level, build some of these machines for personal use. Now I want to investigate if there is a market for american made agricultural machines for hemp.

I don't see a lot of "tech" on this list, might be overblown. These are things we need to make here, make them right, and of high quality.

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#54

Post by EpicEng »

Washuu wrote: post #33
kayfox wrote: post #21

So, to encourage manufacturers in the US to build more stuff in the US, they will increase tariffs on components so that it will cost even more to build something in the US than to build it in China. Good plan, hello Canada!

I am in the middle of starting a business around a product that will get slammed by this. I was going to import the components and have the boards built here.("Made in the USA" labels are huge for my target market.) Assuming I am parsing all of this correctly it will end up being better for me to have the PCBs assembled into the products in China and not create jobs in the USA.

You mean "assembled in the USA"?

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#55

Post by craftyguy »

rsynnott wrote: post #22
craftyguy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish countries would sanction Trump's companies.

Difficult to do legally; just because the US may be breaking WTO rules isn't license for everyone else to do it.

The WTO allows for countries that are being wronged by another country (which is breaking trade rules) to enact retribution. That is 100% legal.

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#56

Post by Washuu »

rgbrenner wrote: post #49
Washuu wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am in the middle of starting a business around a product that will get slammed by this. I was going to import the components and have the boards built here.("Made in the USA" labels are huge for my target market.) Assuming I am parsing all of this correctly it will end up being better for me to have the PCBs assembled into the products in China and not create jobs in the USA.

You can't use the "Made in the USA" label like that anyway. It must be all or virtually all made in the USA. At best you could label it "Made in USA from Imported Parts" or "Assembled in USA." https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/com...

My intention was that the casing and PCBs would be made in the USA. The only China sourced parts would be the PCB components.(Not finalized/assembled PCBs.) As far as I know that would qualify for "Made in the USA".

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#57

Post by maxwell »

mreome wrote: post #45
forkLding wrote: post #25

Wonder how Apple is taking this EDIT: Interesting, didn't know Apple manufacturing policies until now.

Apple doesn't assemble their devices domestily. This tariff does not include complete phones. I'm sure they are perfectly fine with these tarrifs, they are a barrier for potential competitors who don't already have established supply and assembly facilities in China/Tiwaian.

Mac Pro is assembled in Fort Worth.

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#58

Post by WhiteDawn »

luma wrote: post #3

As a basement hacker selling goods on Tindie this tariff schedule covers nearly every tool, consumable, and component parts I use in everything I do. My cost of business just went up by 25% today across the board. The full schedule: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/301Investig... Example items of interest to people designing electronic goods in the US: ------------------------------------------------…

This is the true story here. How does putting tariffs on parts that hackers/innovators use to prototype new products help the American people? If you don't have enough funding, and a large enough customer base to get your electronics manufactured offshore, you get hurt by the tariffs.

I feel like China may welcome this with open arms, bolster their own manufacturing by cutting out DIY'ers.

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#59

Post by maxwell »

kayfox wrote: post #38
forkLding wrote: post #25

Wonder how Apple is taking this EDIT: Interesting, didn't know Apple manufacturing policies until now.

They don't manufacture devices in the US, so they should be fine.

They partnered with Flextronics to assemble the Mac Pro in Texas.

Re: White House announces 25 percent tariff on Chinese tech goods

#60

Post by craftyguy »

tyfon wrote: post #43
gremlinsinc wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be awesome. I'd love for other countries to not blame ALL of us, for the actions of 1 individual...and would be nice to see him throw a huge hissy fit about it on twitter.

The 1 individual was democratically elected though so I guess it's just not 1 individual. Now, I wouldn't mind if the rest of the world gave him the stick, but like it or not he does represents and is the figurehead of US so it is your responsibility to deal with his actions.

He was directly elected by 304 individuals. You're confusing a democracy with a republic.
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