News Biden administration plans to resume Trump tariffs on China-made GPUs and motherboards

[Admin]

The US Trade Representative office recommended to the White House to resume import duties on GPUs, motherboards, and desktop PC cases.

Biden administration plans to resume Trump tariffs on China-made GPUs and motherboards : Read more

 

[peachpuff]

They want a piece of that ai nvidia gpu money, maybe they should ding those gpus even more.

 

[FoxtrotMichael-1]

One thing this article fails to mention is that China is destabilizing security in the pacific by building islands and aggressively defending international waters as Chinese waters, not to mention supplying the war effort in Ukraine. It actually is good policy to start to separate economically from China. It’s going to be a long process but will prevent the US from much more pain down the road.

 

[bit_user]

They want a piece of that ai nvidia gpu money, maybe they should ding those gpus even more.w

It's not in the USTR's remit to worry about government revenues. They're concerned with trade policy and imbalances.

 

[Notton]

PC cases is a weird thing to put tariffs on.
If I want a quality PC case, it's usually designed in a Western country, but manufactured in China.
I would not expect high quality fit and finish, unless it was made in a Chinese factory.

 

[bit_user]

I would not expect high quality fit and finish, unless it was made in a Chinese factory.

That's a weird thing to say, given that it certainly wasn't true 20 years ago. These things can change rather quickly.

Also, I'm struck by how much high tech & precision manufacturing even happens in a country like Mexico. Are you telling me they can build cars & car parts, but not quality PC cases?

 

[Notton]

That's a weird thing to say, given that it certainly wasn't true 20 years ago. These things can change rather quickly.

Also, I'm struck by how much high tech & precision manufacturing even happens in a country like Mexico. Are you telling me they can build cars & car parts, but not quality PC cases?

Mexico builds reliable cars, yes.

USA manufacturing on the other hand...
Tesla and Boeing topping the news on poor build quality.
GM, Ford, and Chrysler... also not confidence inspiring.

If Toyota or Honda made PC cases in North America, I am sure they would build it properly... I doubt it'd be cheap.

edit
Fractal Design and NZXT, for instance, is entirely manufactured in China.

 

[nookoool]

One thing this article fails to mention is that China is destabilizing security in the pacific by building islands and aggressively defending international waters as Chinese waters, not to mention supplying the war effort in Ukraine. It actually is good policy to start to separate economically from China. It’s going to be a long process but will prevent the US from much more pain down the road.

Isn't these type of discussion pointless in a tech site? A person in China or global south would argue that the US/West the cause of all the worlds problems.

 

[USAFRet]

USA manufacturing on the other hand...

Manufacturing in the US:

BMW
Honda
Kia
Hyundai
Subaru
Toyota

 

[Notton]

Manufacturing in the US:

BMW
Honda
Kia
Hyundai
Subaru
Toyota

And then there is the parts supplier chain, which can be all over the world.

Kia and Hyundai had to recall more than 600,000 vehicles due to fire risks last year.

 

[USAFRet]

And then there is the parts supplier chain, which can be all over the world.

Kia and Hyundai had to recall more than 600,000 vehicles due to fire risks last year.

So...absolutely unsure of your point with "USA manufacturing on the other hand..."

In any case, this is off topic for this site.

 

[bit_user]

A person in China or global south would argue that ...

Access to information isn't the same everywhere. Also, countries sometimes have alliances which color their public opinion. Just some factors to consider.

 

[Eximo]

Always comes down to quality control. The more they spend on it (and pass that cost to the consumer) the generally better the product.

Manufacturers/suppliers that have overseas parts suppliers basically enforce the standards they want. If the supplier doesn't comply, then they aren't the supplier anymore.

A lot of Chinese goods have a bad reputation because low cost IS the goal. They are trying to undercut some other higher quality similar product already on the market to cater to domestic and overseas buyers. A race to the bottom of minimum viable product.

You can absolutely get great "Made in X" products from anywhere, you just have to pay for it.

 

[anthonymaw]

Isn't these type of discussion pointless in a tech site? A person in China or global south would argue that the US/West the cause of all the worlds problems.

Somebody had indigestion eating at Panda Express......

 

[anthonymaw]

The US Trade Representative office recommended to the White House to resume import duties on GPUs, motherboards, and desktop PC cases.

Biden administration plans to resume Trump tariffs on China-made GPUs and motherboards : Read more

US consumers will pay 100% of all the tariffs. American consumers now take it for granted that almost everything they buy, particularly electronics, that is cheap and affordable is made in China. Anybody remember when an Apple Computer made in California cost $8000 in 1980? Or a Dell computer made in Texas cost $5000 in 1990 ? Even a Toshiba laptop computer made in Japan in 2000 cost around $3000. High quality affordable mass produced computer parts designed in Taiwan and mass-produed in Mainland China starting in 2001 when China joined the WTO was what made modern US tech industry possible. But yeah the US government is desperately BROKE right now and there is a growing trade imbalance between US and China. That is the real reason for the tariff increases.

 

[bit_user]

US consumers will pay 100% of all the tariffs.

Consumers and businesses, but that's essentially right... If no cheaper source can be found, then the price will go up by that much. The idea behind tariffs is to make it profitable to domestically manufacture or source the item from somewhere else, in which case the price shouldn't go up by an amount quite equal to the tariff.

American consumers now take it for granted that almost everything they buy, particularly electronics, that is cheap and affordable is made in China.

Before China, it was Korea, Japan, and even Singapore. We also see goods made in Malaysia, Indonesia, and increasingly Vietnam. Lots of our clothing is made in Bangladesh. In other words, the real story is globalization.

Anybody remember when an Apple Computer made in California cost $8000 in 1980? Or a Dell computer made in Texas cost $5000 in 1990 ?

Not exactly, but I do remember when PCs cost more (inflation adjusted). However the other big thing that happened, while you weren't paying attention in class, is factory automation. This has been an even bigger source of US manufacturing job losses, but it doesn't get the same headlines as factories closing due to off-shoring.

It now takes far fewer workers to run a manufacturing line. That's mostly due to automation and it's a big reason for the reductions in labor costs.

But yeah the US government is desperately BROKE right now

No, they're not getting that much revenue from tariffs!

there is a growing trade imbalance between US and China.

Actually, it's been generally declining since 2018. There was a blip in 2021-2022, but last year was way down to levels not seen since 2010!

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html
​

 

[Markis82]

Someone buy these people a map so they can know Taiwan, where the chips are produced, is not part of China and that this article that is being spammed everywhere is full of misinformation.

 

[FoxtrotMichael-1]

Isn't these type of discussion pointless in a tech site? A person in China or global south would argue that the US/West the cause of all the worlds problems.

Well, that’s the thing. Facts actually matter. The way that China behaves and the way the US behaves are not equal. The US can definitely get nasty when dealing with security threats, I’m not denying that. Heck, we don’t even play fair all the time. However, only one country is currently bullying and destabilizing the Pacific and it isn’t the US.