4 ms·

Tariffs hurt US customers as well. We pay a higher price for sure. It hurts China, but it does not mean China has to retaliate because it would hurt China cus

by xmly 7y ago

Tariffs hurt US customers as well. We pay a higher price for sure. It hurts China, but it does not mean China has to retaliate because it would hurt China customers as well. If China's leaders are wise, they would focus on the economy boost instead of playing this child game with another Child.

mc32 7y ago
On the other hand, it's a great way to drive people away from disposable consumption and guided into more expensive but better built and longer lasting alternatives less damaging to the environment. But I'm afraid this skirmish will not last long enough to shift behavior.
toasterlovin 7y ago
It doesn’t raise consumer prices by much. The tariffs are on cost of good sold, not retail price. For most of the goods you buy at Walmart, the cost of goods sold is a fraction of the retail price. Most of the retail price is paying for shipping, retail presence, etc. So a 25% tariff might only result in 5-10% higher prices for consumers. And that’s only on non-grocery goods, which make up a small fraction of most households’ expenditures. Not really a big deal, in other words.
andy_bandy 7y ago
>We pay a higher price for sure. If we lived in a one variable world, yes. But in the real world there are multiple variables and depending on those variables this may or may not be the case. Always or just some of the time? If you are making widgets in China and I am making widgets in Vietnam are you going to pass the tariff costs on to consumers and let me steal all your business? Or are you going to eat the costs and plan to move production to Vietnam? On the other hand maybe you have contracts with big companies so they have to buy your widgets and that means that costs will be passed on at least for the term of contracts. The point is - it depends.

4 ms·

Tariffs hurt US customers as well. We pay a higher price for sure. It hurts China, but it does not mean China has to retaliate because it would hurt China cus

by xmly 7y ago

mc32 7y ago
On the other hand, it's a great way to drive people away from disposable consumption and guided into more expensive but better built and longer lasting alternatives less damaging to the environment. But I'm afraid this skirmish will not last long enough to shift behavior.
toasterlovin 7y ago
It doesn’t raise consumer prices by much. The tariffs are on cost of good sold, not retail price. For most of the goods you buy at Walmart, the cost of goods sold is a fraction of the retail price. Most of the retail price is paying for shipping, retail presence, etc. So a 25% tariff might only result in 5-10% higher prices for consumers. And that’s only on non-grocery goods, which make up a small fraction of most households’ expenditures. Not really a big deal, in other words.
andy_bandy 7y ago
>We pay a higher price for sure. If we lived in a one variable world, yes. But in the real world there are multiple variables and depending on those variables this may or may not be the case. Always or just some of the time? If you are making widgets in China and I am making widgets in Vietnam are you going to pass the tariff costs on to consumers and let me steal all your business? Or are you going to eat the costs and plan to move production to Vietnam? On the other hand maybe you have contracts with big companies so they have to buy your widgets and that means that costs will be passed on at least for the term of contracts. The point is - it depends.