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Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

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251–260 of 610 posts

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#251
post #120

This is going to utterly fuck so many R&D projects at my company. We actually do large-scale manufacturing of industrial valves in the USA. But a lot of our prototyping involves working with Chinese suppliers and getting small batches of samples / prototypes / revisions sent in packages on airplanes. I literally do not know how the electrical and firmware engineers will do their jobs now if we cannot receive packages…

>I literally do not know how the electrical and firmware engineers will do their jobs now if we cannot receive packages from China As a software engineer who works closely with electrical and firmware engineers I know what you are saying is completely true. The question is how did we let it go this far? Why has there never been serious Western alternatives to JLCPCB, PCBWay, JLCCNC etc.? Has anyone asked themselves h…

> Why has there never been serious Western alternatives to JLCPCB, PCBWay, JLCCNC etc? Has anyone asked themselves how these Chinese firms are so cheap?

Of course we've asked ourselves that, we know the answers too! Manufacturing costs are so low, and the cost of shipping is so low.

I recently made contact with a manufacturer at a trade fair in Europe.

I was wanting a sample of their product, they had one at their stand - I had it in my hands - but due to time constraints we didn't have time to seal the deal on the day and I had to leave town.

So they ended up taking the item all the way back to Asia, and then a week or so later air-freighted it all the way back to Europe. Shipping cost was approx USD55, they shipped it out on a Friday, it was delivered on the Monday.

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#252
post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The question is how did we let it go this far? Because allowing countries to maximize their comparative advantages is great for economic growth. It doesn’t make sense for every nation on earth to have their own copy of every industrial sector. We don’t need all nations to manufacture their own jet engines, oil tankers, t-shirts, and Tylenol. Trade is good. The idea that China is a major security threat is basically…

> The idea that China is a major security threat is basically brand new. And as far as I can see, that idea comes from China simply having grown its economy to a size comparable to that of the USA, nothing else? But everyone during the Chinese miracle growth (from 1980's to today) expected China would've become the largest economy in the world by the 2020's. I guess people just didn't really take that seriously until…

Exactly. We knew perfectly well it was coming, for decades, and we knew perfectly well the US would have put up a fight to prevent it. Not a competition, a fight: real and fake accusations, FUD, tariffs, or even actual war.

Now the time has come and we're in the middle of it. At least, I hope this is not just the beginning.

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#253
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the fuck does this even mean? Is it agreeing with me, arguing I am wrong, or simply stating something related/orthogonal?

Mind the F-bomb's, this ain't a TISM concert mate. It is simply stating that if China was stopping parcels bound for the US then the current US admin might be petty enough to pretend that they are the ones stopping incoming parcels from China to appear in control. This doesn't seem likely, but the sentiment is reasonable .. the current crowd do seem exceptionally petty.

I agree that their aggression wasn't needed, but while this isn't a concert it is a grown up discussion space where we can see the word "fuck", spelled more than the first letter, without fainting!

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#254

Looks like everything will be hit by the MPF What is a Merchandise Processing Fee? The Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) is a user fee that the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) charges. It is charged in addition to US Customs duty as an ad valorem tax at a rate of .03464%. It is calculated as a percentage of the value of the shipments shown on the invoice, also known as the Customs appraisement. This user fee ca…

Wow, that's fucking bullshit. I buy electronics components every year from Shenzen, talking with my supplier now about shipping from Singapore or Japan.

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#256
post #93

The speed at which all of this is happening is astounding Is this all improvised or was there a big list of stuff to do ahead of time? If the latter, does anyone have a copy of that list? Alternatively, is anyone keeping track of what's already been done so far?

https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FUL... EDIT: you downvoted me for giving the other poster a primary source document from the original publisher, with no commentary? What are you mad about?

Yeah this definitely deserves more upvotes than just mine.

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#257

This is going to utterly fuck so many R&D projects at my company. We actually do large-scale manufacturing of industrial valves in the USA. But a lot of our prototyping involves working with Chinese suppliers and getting small batches of samples / prototypes / revisions sent in packages on airplanes. I literally do not know how the electrical and firmware engineers will do their jobs now if we cannot receive packages…

Can you ship via non-USPS couriers? FedEx, etc?

If the basis of this move is that the USPS haven't figured out how to collect the tariffs on imports from China you would expect other couriers to be implementing the same measures very soon.

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#258
post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I literally do not know how the electrical and firmware engineers will do their jobs now if we cannot receive packages from China As a software engineer who works closely with electrical and firmware engineers I know what you are saying is completely true. The question is how did we let it go this far? Why has there never been serious Western alternatives to JLCPCB, PCBWay, JLCCNC etc.? Has anyone asked themselves h…

> Why has there never been serious Western alternatives to JLCPCB, PCBWay, JLCCNC etc.? Because the West has to actually follow environmental and safety regulations. As opposed to write them down on paper and wipe your ass with it when the West isn't looking. Evidence: I watched a tour video from one of these Chinese PCB houses and some of the workers were wearing surgical masks. Not for COVID mind you, for presiding…

"Because the West has to actually follow environmental and safety regulations"

... that can only exist because they can circumvent them by offshoring all their production to the East and South. If they actually wanted to comply rather than bypass said regulations they would have to curb consumption for which there would not be support.

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed you can. This only affects the heavily subsidized usps shipping process. If your r&d cannot afford fedex you shouldn’t be doing r&d. For all the supposed panic and importance of this process, the poster didn’t do even a google search of this issue

upvoted by poster. BUT - USPS stopped subsidizing Chinese packages back in 2018? https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/418081-usps-is-done-subs... So on the surface, this looks more like corporate welfare to FedEx/DHL.

(declaimer: I am from Hong Kong, and have worked on some import tax/declaration system)

Import tax and tariff relies on clear and accurate import declaration.

For DHL/FexEx imported package, you can fine them when the declaration isn't right.

For USPS imported package, you can't fine USPS -- they didn't know what's in package when it arrive. You can't fine Hong Kong Post or China Post, because they are not US entities. Rejecting parcel in bulk is one of the reasonable option if they can't get the shipper fill in the correct declaration form.

Re: Suspension of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong

#260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if you're not busy you'll have time join in a general strike. Shutting the economy down is rapidly becoming the only nonviolent option.

[flagged]

No, the only nonviolent option for people who want to protest the administration's scattershot behavior, of which this is but one example. I think you understand this just fine, don't you?
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