US Tariffs Now Include Wireless Routers, China Responds

takeshi7

Honorable
Nov 15, 2013
105
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10,685
"it said "Congress has not given the president or the USTR a blank check to pursue a trade war"

It's almost as if giving every subsequent president more and more executive power is a bad idea and can definitely backfire. There's a reason our founding fathers tried to create a government with checks and balances.
 

mossberg

Distinguished
Jun 13, 2007
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18,720


That's right, you would rather countries keep taking advantage of us, and taking jobs from Americans. We are winning. 4.2 GDP growth, unemployment is down, average middle class income is up, Europe is going to finally pay their share of NATO expenses, ect.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


One country is definitely taking advantage of us, and I won't say who but you can probably guess... :D
 

rabbit4me1

Honorable
Jan 2, 2017
25
0
10,540
Sounds like discrimination to me, since no apple products are on the list. Apples has the money and most their account offshore. Only fair to tax em too.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Apple stopped manufacturing wireless routers years ago. But it will eventually come back around to them.
 
Sep 1, 2018
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Maybe we should start manufacturing some of these products here and put Americans to work. Ridiculous.
 

Gillerer

Distinguished
Sep 23, 2013
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18,940
What's the reason manufacturing has moved to the far east? Cost.

People who entertain delusions about the manufacturing moving to the US (or any high standard of living western country): Would you work for sub $1 per hour? Do you know anyone who would? People would prefer to work at McDonald's at that point.

Or if the wages were higher, or the manufacturing was highly automated, the selling prices would need to at least double. Who'd buy these US made routers then, when competitors in far east (outside China) could still make them for the normal price? Maybe Trump can introduce tariffs against them, too.
 

Gary_133

Prominent
Aug 3, 2017
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@Gillerer Someone with a brain here, also I would like to remind people who's idea it was to move the manufacturing jobs OUT OF THE US.

The higher ups do it without a gun pointed to their head and also knowing full well there is a 99% chance someone is going to steal their IP.
 

bit_user

Polypheme
Ambassador
*sigh*

I thought this might happen. I was trying to buy a new router, but the price jumped during the back-to-school season. It never came back down and now I'll probably just wait and see if the trade war fizzles... or maybe I'll have bigger problems than dodgy wifi.
 

bit_user

Polypheme
Ambassador

Yeah, but you no doubt read about the exemption on smartwatches and bluetooth devices? At least the former seems squarely beneficial to Apple, and I'd love to know how they got it.
 

bit_user

Polypheme
Ambassador

No, nobody wants that.

The issue is that trade wars don't work.

And if the goal were to shift production to the USA, then gradually phasing in the incentives and penalties over a longer period of time is the smart way to do that. These tariffs are so sudden that no one can realistically shift production in this sort of time frame. There are even companies who've been caught out with orders placed in advance of the steel/aluminum tariffs that didn't take delivery until after the tariffs and had to pay the surcharge that no one even knew about when the order was placed. Depending on your margins and material costs, that can be a big hit to swallow.


A lot of people are concerned this was partially driven by individuals and companies accelerating their purchasing, in advance of looming tariffs. As tariffs start coming into effect, that spending should dry up and then some.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


So does it affect all devices like smart watches and bluetooth speakers, laptops, etc, or just the ones manufactured in certain countries? Companies like Apple where they have a hundred different supply lines could have one line affected if they manufacture in one country and one line go completely unaffected if they manufacture in another. Like if they manufacture their laptops in China but their smart watches in say Thailand, what affects one country would not have an affect on the other. I'm not defending Apple but that's just basic supply side econ.
 

bit_user

Polypheme
Ambassador

Did you read the article or maybe any sort of news? It's China. These tariffs are on China.


I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure it's not a small undertaking to move an entire assembly operation to another country. There are doubtless contracts, staffing, training, and other obstacles, beyond the practical aspects.

If they knew how long this would drag on and what would be the outcome, then I think they'd waste no time in adapting. But one problem with this situation is that nobody knows where the chips are going to land. And in that case, not just with China, but also with other countries.

I think the most certainty is currently with Mexico, as it sounds like they've ironed out a mutually agreeable revision to NAFTA. Unfortunately, NAFTA includes Canada, and the President only has Congressional authority to renegotiate NAFTA. So, even though Mexico has agreed to some terms, Canada needs to sign on and Congress needs to ratify the deal (after 90 days). So, even the most certain of the trading relationships is still not exactly settled.

Now, if I remember back a couple of years, something sticks in my head about businesses not liking uncertainty...
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Yes I did, but what I want to know is - are they punishing the company that makes the product or are they just punishing the product? Because it would seem to me that if a company based in China like Foxconn were to build a factory in Wisconsin like they've been talking about, that company would still be profiting big time in China which if you think about it really wouldn't create that many new jobs. The same company would still be profiting. What the tariffs really do is punish the supply chain that makes the product, which in turn punishes the consumer by raising prices. You're not really creating new jobs or bringing in new revenue, all you're doing is creating a new generation of angry consumers because all that's going to do is jack up the prices which are already high enough. Which is how we get $1500 phones, and the next generation can (and most likely will) push the $2,000 barrier. I would think that would be a fair assumption of what is going on, no?
 

bit_user

Polypheme
Ambassador

It's based on the country of origin. I don't know how the tariffs break down if x% of the product originated in country A and final assembly happened in country B, but I think we can say that most products coming from China have most of their supply chain in China.


Oof! You're thinking too hard!

This is about jobs, man. Jobs! Tax Americans in the name of jobs for Americans! And who cares if we piss off half the world, provoking all sorts of retaliatory tariffs, forcing companies to move manufacturing of products for export off shores, in order to avoid those barriers plus the added cost of components and raw materials that are tariffed on their way into the US... never mind that. Just remember that it's about jobs. Getting taxed to create jobs... somewhere, jobs.


Actually, I think phones are slated to get hit in this round. So, your $1500 phone should be $1650, if Apple chooses to pass on the full cost and hasn't already accounted for it in the already-inflated price.
 

jandrsn27

Distinguished
Apr 18, 2012
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18,515
Oh no our Chinese wage slave goods are going up in price!!! Palo Alto and the Chinese COMMUNIST government made trillions off basically enslaving the low class rural Chinese people and shipping our high paying manufacturing jobs over to them. Now that someone is trying to call them out and return that wealth and close the trade deficit, "inudstry leaders" are trying to whip every consumer up in a frenzy because they will have to pay 5$ more for a router. Here's an idea, let's make the router here and give someone a job, hope, healthcare, a better future! But that will never happen because Netgear says that's xenophobic! Moral of the story buy US, end globalism!
 

mossberg

Distinguished
Jun 13, 2007
159
32
18,720


Yea it has been China. They have been our credit card, for decades, and it is going to bite us in the end. Any other country you have thought up, and I can guess which one, is nothing more than media produced conjecture.

These trade wars are going to hurt initially. This tactic has brought the EU to the table. For far too long, this country has been a consumer of all, manufacturer of little. I have seen first hand what bad trade deals, like NAFTA, have done to industry here.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Uh oh! Better use one of these. :lol:

LSyQ.gif
 
That's right and even though prices on everything that uses steel and aluminum is going up in price is okay. By paying higher prices we are teaching those communist Chinese a lesson!
And Nato countries are finally paying their share, because of Trump, not because of anything they signed or agreed to before Trump was elected. Of course with GDP soaring thanks to the Tariffs right. I mean with China getting ready to implement a big Tariff on US soybeans soon. China soybean exports increased 9,400% raising the GDP. But don't worry once the Chinese Tariffs hit the soybean farmers and their exports drop to a trickle Trump and the Rushlicans will set aside a few billion for them too.

Where is this money coming from? Don't worry your grand kids and great grands kids will pay for all this. Unless they are part of the top 2% in that case they get a permanent tax break. Winning with Trump and the Ruslians!