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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

#141

I used to do a lot more embedded systems work. I've been 100% software lately and, looking at this list, I'm glad I started on that transition. I don't know what the exact BOM impact would have been on past projects, but it would have been rough. I can't get over this Don Quixote-esque crusade. This just hurts American competitiveness.

That is Putin’s point. That’s why there is a lot of investment in influence of the awful sources of information used by the President.

Hopefully, when this guy is gone we look at reigning in the power of POTUS, which is clearly too strong now.

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

#142
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you, I'm glad you were able to deconstruct the sentences critically instead of emotionally triggering.

Maybe, but both sides aren't the exact same.

For ianai since there are max reply depths: Schumer is in favor of the tariffs.

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

#143
post #33
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.

I don’t fully understand he tariffs, but wouldn’t you be subject to 25% tariff anyway if it was made in China?

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

#144
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something. In this case, doing something (a) does not harm China, as intended, as they are still the only viable place to purchase these items, yet (b) actively harms business in the United States, as we are paying the additional cost ourselves.

(a) I mean this tariff does definitely harm China. The reason they're the only viable place to purchase these items is because they're so cheap. Making them more expensive gives space for non-Chinese competitors to enter into business. (b) It actively harms some businesses, but also gives room for new companies to form where they wouldn't have been able to previously. It's wrong to claim this hurts 'business' in a br…

> Perhaps but in this case better for who? It doesn't seem to me that - for most Americans - allowing the Chinese to steal our technology and then underprice our businesses with cheap labor is beneficial.

- China's labor prices are increasing faster than they are in the US. So fast in fact, people are automating factories in China and/or moving factories to other countries.

- Every country _except_ the US will continue to buy those goods at the real market price.

- This is just exporting US jobs to Mexico/Canada who will assemble and import into US via NAFTA. That is the best case.

- Worst case this sets off a permanent trade war with China and the US is forced to sever ties with every potential "cut out" through which trade can flow. The US would need to knife all of its allies in the back and impose these tariffs on all nations for this to actually work.

- The correct response to China's behavior was the TPP followed by multilateral action to punish China.

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

#145
Since my prior comment was downvoted into obscurity, I’ll jump on yours and reiterate my point and ask...

What do you manufacture? Would you be interested in a startup that offered you a waiver of these tariffs?

My prior point was you will start seeing start ups pop up left and right offering “tariff free imports/importing for US manufacturers as a service”. Somehow that is controversial enough to be downvoted without a reply I’m not sure why.

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

#146
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but I see your comment as a rationale for an additional tariff that covers your circumstance. In what way would you punish China for their bad actions regarding US technology?

Sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something. In this case, doing something (a) does not harm China, as intended, as they are still the only viable place to purchase these items, yet (b) actively harms business in the United States, as we are paying the additional cost ourselves.

> (a) does not harm China, as intended, as they are still the only viable place to purchase these items, yet (b) actively harms business in the United States, as we are paying the additional cost ourselves.

There's an important qualification: that's probably only true in the short or medium term. I believe the goal is that the higher cost would produce economic space for competitors to enter the market.

Ironically, I believe the WTO rules allow for countries classified as "developing" (like China) to maintain high tariffs to develop local industry for precisely this reason.

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

#147
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But isn't the reason these products are made in China because it's inherently both more efficient and cost-effective? You're saying we should make products in a less efficient and more expensive way to avoid relying on other countries? And by the way isn't the bulk of our imports raw materials anyway?

>You're saying we should make products in a less efficient and more expensive way to avoid relying on other countries? In this case yes. This is competition between nation-states we're talking about, viewing the entire relationship through the narrow lens of economic efficiency is missing the forest for one specific tree.

So then these are protectionist policies and not in the spirit of pure capitalism. And these policies are in place for "the good of the nation" as such any policy good for the nation is supposed to be a rational action notwithstanding the effects of unintended or retaliatory consequences. And lastly, we're to "trust" a single man's unilateral tariff power that all will be well.

Is that all correct?

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

#148
post #53

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…

Did you not read the list, or are you unfamiliar with electronic components? Every single component commonly found in consumer electronics is covered in that document. That includes the individual components (passives, actives, everything), the circuit boards, the wires, the power supplies, the connectors, displays, switches, fuses, sensors... everything.

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

#149

Since my prior comment was downvoted into obscurity, I’ll jump on yours and reiterate my point and ask... What do you manufacture? Would you be interested in a startup that offered you a waiver of these tariffs? My prior point was you will start seeing start ups pop up left and right offering “tariff free imports/importing for US manufacturers as a service”. Somehow that is controversial enough to be downvoted withou…

How on earth could a startup provide that service legally?

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

#150
post #149

Since my prior comment was downvoted into obscurity, I’ll jump on yours and reiterate my point and ask... What do you manufacture? Would you be interested in a startup that offered you a waiver of these tariffs? My prior point was you will start seeing start ups pop up left and right offering “tariff free imports/importing for US manufacturers as a service”. Somehow that is controversial enough to be downvoted withou…

How on earth could a startup provide that service legally?

by manufacturing in the US, perhaps
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