Posted on 05/13/2019 1:28:57 AM PDT by Zhang Fei
BEIJING — Chinese exporters of all sorts of products, from power adapters and computers to vacuum cleaners, are anxiously hoping trade talks in Washington this week will yield a deal that might stave off higher U.S. tariffs on imports from China.
Companies across China are bracing for a tariff hike on Friday after President Donald Trump, complaining Beijing was backtracking and the talks on a festering trade dispute were taking too long, said he would raise import duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%.
Amber Chen, sales manager for a vacuum cleaner manufacturer based in southern China, says her company has $100 million in exports to the U.S. at stake.
“I really hope that the two countries can reach an agreement,” Chen said in a phone interview. “We just can’t swallow the costs of a tariff increase.”
Many Chinese companies are reluctant to speak publicly about their problems, especially those linked to sensitive topics such as the ruling Communist Party’s policies on trade and technology.
But sales managers of five Chinese companies that depend heavily on exports to the U.S. told The Associated Press that while they have managed to adjust to current tariff levels with minimal trouble, a jump to a 25% tariff would make doing business with the U.S. virtually impossible for most of them.
“If the tariffs rise to 25 percent, then we’re done for,” said James, a sales manager for a computer monitor manufacturer in Shenzhen, China’s southern tech hub.
He declined to give his full name. He said 30% to 40% of his company’s products are exported to the U.S.
If the tariff increase goes ahead, the impact will be deeply felt by small- and medium-sized enterprises, said Shawn Yang, sales manager for a company in Shenzhen that produces electric power
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Way past the time we need to claw back wealth China exfiltrated over the past 30 years
This why we need an across the board 25% tariff. We want quality products made by Americans and we want it now.
Interesting how many good English speakers they can find to complain about these tariffs yet there’s no such thing when it comes to warranty support.
Call a toll free number and maybe we’ll let you send the junk back to us at your expense and then maybe we’ll fix it or send you a new one. But when you call that number, will THEY be able to speak English?
Will you get to talk to a James or Shawn?
The United States achieved its greatest economic growth from 1865 to 1900 when it levied the highest tariffs in its history.
/////////////////
Interestingly, that was also before the federal income tax. A lean, efficient federal government obtained the money to run itself through, tariffs, fees, and licenses. 1913 brought the 16th amendment and the federal income tax. Once the federal politicians enslaved the populace with an unconstitutional income tax, they dropped tariffs and reaped windfalls on imports and expanded the socialist collective democracy 100 fold by buying the votes of the indolent, lazy, and stupid citizenry.
China created a massive vulnerability on their own, then they built an economy on that vulnerability.
We did the same thing with Mortgage Backed Securities.
There is no soft landing, so it may come to war.
The prelude to every shooting war is an economic war. The Chinese have been waging it for three decades, and nobody fought back.
Now they face opposition for 2 years for the first time and the political impact is finally landing in tangible ways.
Don’t pay the tariff just buy from another country
OSHA? What are they good for? If they were true to their mission what would they do with the NFL?
Due to Costco’s incredible return policy, you can return that broken umbrella!
Tariffs UP
/\ /\ /\
Income Tax DOWN
Sales Tax DOWN
Property Tax DOWN
\/ \/ \/
Corrupt Congress \/
Corrupt bribed Democrats \/
Corrupt Rino Republicans \/
The greatest thing a U.S. President can do
is RAISE TARIFFS.
That lowers Congress Corruption.
HIGHER TARIFFS is Small Govt, BIGGER PEOPLE.
Dyson vacuums are made in Malaysia since 2002.
Companies that manufacture a labor intensive product must realize how negative the Made in China has become in the USA. It is interesting now that we wish for the days when all the real good electronic equipment was made in Japan.
The cheap labor has been moving out of China now for years. to other Asian countries. However, there is still a lot of inexpensive clothing made there. With NAFTA you would think more manufacturing would have moved to Mexico if their target market was the USA.
I think the difference is if you want to sell to both the USA and China you are almost forced to have a factory in China.
It may take a bit of getting used to, but I will have no problem referring to Harbor Freight as the Outlet Store of India instead of the Outlet Store of the People’s Republic of China.
The tariffs on $200 billion in goods from China are going from 10% to 25%...so let’s see:
$200 billion x 0.15 / 320 million Americans / 52 weeks per year = $1.80 per American per week.
OH THE HORROR!
I think some of the Chinese were betting on Trump being removed by other means and now are caught with the prospect of him being around for a while...
They thought she would never lose and they were stupid to listen to the dims empty removal promises.
“People here on FR have been saying that it is Americans who will be paying the tariff (and suffering).“ “Maybe this Chinese exporter is wrong??”
I’m pretty sure you were being sarcastic - but for anyone reading this thread who worries about predictions - that American consumers will ultimately suffer the consequences of Trump’s retaliatory tariffs - here is Supply and Demand 101:
Those predictions wrongly assume a high “price elasticity of demand”. In other words, they wrongly assume that the Chinese can simply add the cost of the tariff to the selling price and Americans will have to pay the higher price.
That would only be true of indispensable products where there is no alternative to the Chinese source. These are rare cases, and even then, such a monopoly can only exist for a short time.
In the vast majority of cases, the Chinese source is not the exclusive source, but rather the cheapest source. The low price is the only reason they can compete, so the minute they raise the price - they lose the business.
Moreover, since the Chinese specialize in producing cheap knock-offs of existing products, it is very rare that they are the only source for anything. Similarly, since they steal technology rather than invest in long term R&D phases, they specialize in product lines with relatively low ramp up periods, and relatively loose market entry barriers. As such, they are especially price inelastic, and therefore vulnerable to a retaliatory tariff strategy.
Yes, they do have a good return policy but for me it’s about a 1 1/2 drive to the nearest Costco. I’ll have to wait until I need a 55 gallon drum of peanut butter, then I’ll take it back.
I just realized that this situation has huge opportunity for bringing back Hong Kong autonomy.
Would love to see it.
What do we need them for?
To establish and Advertise the best sucker bets in biz!
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