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Anker Raises Prices on Amazon Due to Tariffs

Imperial926 said:
Whatever he does, the trust in the US around the world has gone. Despite the many things that could be better in the UK and Europe generally, you've inadvertently given us a chance to build together more strongly. Who knows, even the insane BREXIT may be repealed in some way.

It's not just about money and the tariffs, it's the way we've been spoken to and watching how the US treats its closest neighbours. Then there's Panama, 51st state nonsense and Greenland. We really can't work with or trust such insanity.
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Panama is a probably has one of the most strategic value to national security and commerce. US losing control of the canal would serious jeopardize military movements east to west. It would add at least 8000 miles of travel, vulnerability to the fleet and a heavy cost to operations.
Laugh at Greenland all you want. If the US had a stake in it Russia and China would be less interested. We all know Russia doesn’t have a recent history of invading countries to improve their access to sea travels and commerce routes.
Imagine a Russian military base on the East coast of Greenland, not like that would threaten anyone.
 
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shadowboi said:
Even better: I do my own research before buying, compare thousands and thousands of reviews from different people and then come to the conclusion that “nah, I would better pay more and get more”
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It sounds like you did your diligence. Would brands would you recommend for chargers and power banks? I would be curious to try other better brands.
 
bruinsrme said:
The Chinese government will subsidize an industry until other countries can no longer viably manufacture/produce it.
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Even if this is correct, so what? It is the duty of the government of a given country to look after the welfare of its citizens.
 
KevinN206 said:
It sounds like you did your diligence. Would brands would you recommend for chargers and power banks? I would be curious to try other better brands.
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Currently the best powerbank brand I have ever tried was from Xtorm. This is Dutch brand, don’t know where they manufacture these but quality seems to be decent enough. And as for chargind/data cords I only trust Apple. Tried Belkin too but was upset with their quality nowadays - lightning stopped working for no reason
 
bruinsrme said:
Today that would be combatted with a little thing called tariffs.
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Tariffs is taxation on your own citizens. We are paying for Trump's tariffs, not the Chinese. The exporters, the Chinese manufacturers, passes the cost to the importers. Importers, aka US companies, are passing on the cost to us, the consumers. It doesn't take a genius to understand this. Look at the pyramid. Who in the pyramid bears the heaviest burden? It's the poor smuck at the bottom; in other words us. We are the poor smucks at the bottom of this economic pyramid.
 
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Mousse said:
Tariffs is taxation on your own citizens. We are paying for Trump's tariffs, not the Chinese. The exporters, the Chinese manufacturers, passes the cost to the importers. Importers, aka US companies, are passing on the cost to us, the consumers. It doesn't take a genius to understand this. Look at the pyramid. Who in the pyramid bears the heaviest burden? It's the poor smuck at the bottom; in other words us. We are the poor smucks at the bottom of this economic pyramid.
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What’re it’s a tax or not it balances commerce.
We poor schmucks are more than willing to save a buck than empower our country. That’s the bottom line.
 
bruinsrme said:
Beside cheap labor and inexpensive goods?
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China controls 70% of rare earth production and 90% of refined output...
If China halted REE exports...EV production could drop by about 50%...military production would stall—F-35 output could fall by about 30%...China manufactures 60% of global semiconductors and 70% of electronic components...China supplies 40% of US active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and 80% of antibiotics...China supplies 40% of US apparel ($30 billion), 70% of toys ($20 billion), and 50% of furniture ($25 billion) in 2024, per USITC...90% of US households buy Chinese-made clothing yearly, per a 2024 NRF survey...

to name a few...

China has slowed consumer goods exports before—during the 2018 trade war...You know what happened. China doesn't have to stop exporting, but only just slow down...
 
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chmania said:
China controls 70% of rare earth production and 90% of refined output...
If China halted REE exports...EV production could drop by about 50%...military production would stall—F-35 output could fall by about 30%...China manufactures 60% of global semiconductors and 70% of electronic components...China supplies 40% of US active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and 80% of antibiotics...China supplies 40% of US apparel ($30 billion), 70% of toys ($20 billion), and 50% of furniture ($25 billion) in 2024, per USITC...90% of US households buy Chinese-made clothing yearly, per a 2024 NRF survey...

to name a few...

China has slowed consumer goods exports before—during the 2018 trade war...You know what happened. China doesn't have to stop exporting, but only just slow down...
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Rare earths are found everywhere. China is just prepared to dig a lot of them up at a cost of the environment. It, too, relies on imports of REE from Australia (among others) with which it has had spats before and Australia did the same to China as China is seeking to do with the US. We are all paying for something we would rather not do ourselves, if we are honest. Same with "recyling". Trump wants to dig up Ukraine instead and maybe Greenland. Always looking for someone else to destroy their environment. At some stage, China will not want to despoil its landscape any further, either, so this can will be kicked down the poverty road to some other landmass, which needs the money more than China will by then.

As for pharmaceuticals, I think even China would pause before weaponising that market. The US holds a lot of IP, which means that a lot of stuff can be paused on both sides. I don't think even Russia is barred from pharmaceuticals despite everything. Not a safe area to touch for a trade war.

We all know where this particular standoff is heading, though. Someone does not hold all the cards.
 
weckart said:
Literally, the only people delighted with Trump outside the slowly dwindling MAGA core are the Russians, who have been laughing at Trump on the state sponsored TV channels and hoping for more of the same as he plunges the rest of the world into economic and political turmoil.
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Very true! The question then rises…why does he do what he does in his relationship with Russia/Putin? Answering that question isn’t difficult at all if you know about the history Trump has with Russia.
 
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weckart said:
Rare earths are found everywhere. China is just prepared to dig a lot of them up at a cost of the environment. It, too, relies on imports of REE from Australia (among others) with which it has had spats before and Australia did the same to China as China is seeking to do with the US. We are all paying for something we would rather not do ourselves, if we are honest. Same with "recyling". Trump wants to dig up Ukraine instead and maybe Greenland. Always looking for someone else to destroy their environment. At some stage, China will not want to despoil its landscape any further, either, so this can will be kicked down the poverty road to some other landmass, which needs the money more than China will by then.

As for pharmaceuticals, I think even China would pause before weaponising that market. The US holds a lot of IP, which means that a lot of stuff can be paused on both sides. I don't think even Russia is barred from pharmaceuticals despite everything. Not a safe area to touch for a trade war.

We all know where this particular standoff is heading, though. Someone does not hold all the cards.
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You are free to believe whatever you want. ;)
 
bruinsrme said:
What’re it’s a tax or not it balances commerce.
We poor schmucks are more than willing to save a buck than empower our country. That’s the bottom line.
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We could kick China's (_!_) in this trade war if those bottom 70 percenters, working 2 or 3 jobs just to make rent, would get another job.😐 The extra paycheck would fuel the higher cost of living brought about by the tariffs. There's 24 hours in a day. They're only working 16 hours. The entitlement of those bottom 70 percenters wanting 8 hours of rest.🙃🙃🙃🙃
 
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Mousse said:
We could kick China's (_!_) in this trade war if those bottom 70 percenters, working 2 or 3 jobs just to make rent, would get another job.😐 The extra paycheck would fuel the higher cost of living brought about by the tariffs. There's 24 hours in a day. They're only working 16 hours. The entitlement of those bottom 70 percenters wanting 8 hours of rest.🙃🙃🙃🙃
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I have been in manufacturing for 25 years. I’ve seen factories go from 1800 employees to 600 through the use of automation. Just in that 1200 people could run another factory or 2. China style labor isn’t needed.
 
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bruinsrme said:
I have been in manufacturing for 25 years. I’ve seen factories go from 1800 employees to 600 through the use of automation. Just in that 1200 people could run another factory or 2. China style labor isn’t needed.
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Except that American wages are ten times higher than Chinese, and the factories don’t exist, and those 1200 employees have long since moved on to other work, and US unemployment is low (so there aren’t people waiting around to work in those nonexistent factories).
 
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chmania said:
China controls 70% of rare earth production and 90% of refined output...
If China halted REE exports...EV production could drop by about 50%...military production would stall—F-35 output could fall by about 30%...China manufactures 60% of global semiconductors and 70% of electronic components...China supplies 40% of US active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and 80% of antibiotics...China supplies 40% of US apparel ($30 billion), 70% of toys ($20 billion), and 50% of furniture ($25 billion) in 2024, per USITC...90% of US households buy Chinese-made clothing yearly, per a 2024 NRF survey...

to name a few...

China has slowed consumer goods exports before—during the 2018 trade war...You know what happened. China doesn't have to stop exporting, but only just slow down...
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Funny you mention semiconductor. Tell me the current loading of intel fabs in this country. TSMC is ramping up faster than anticipated and more fab construction is happening. No reason this country can’t be a leader in semiconductor especially since china doesn’t have EUV litho technolog. No reason why toys, clothes furniture, this country already has the ability to manufacture pharmaceuticals.
Everything you listed was a choice to be built in China.
You have a lot of coulds in your post.
 
bruinsrme said:
Panama is a probably has one of the most strategic value to national security and commerce. US losing control of the canal would serious jeopardize military movements east to west. It would add at least 8000 miles of travel, vulnerability to the fleet and a heavy cost to operations.
Laugh at Greenland all you want. If the US had a stake in it Russia and China would be less interested. We all know Russia doesn’t have a recent history of invading countries to improve their access to sea travels and commerce routes.
Imagine a Russian military base on the East coast of Greenland, not like that would threaten anyone.
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Yes, it might be terribly convenient to take over these places - and then you're being just as bad as Russia. Worse actually - because you should know better.

Edit: Come to think of it, I now feel the same about the US as I do about the other two!
 
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clg82 said:
Sooooo...why not bring some back to the US? Why are y'all so against having production back here, of course it will take time for them to build here, all of you are so dead set on keeping things status quo for the next 50 years....makes no sense.
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I am unwilling to pay 300-400% more for a cable made here than one made overseas.

A $10 cable is a $10 cable. The fact you’re charging me $40 for a $10 cable hangs on the fact you expect me as a consumer to pay significantly more for a product because Bob in Massachusetts made it. No, give me a cable that works and I’ll pay $10 for it.
 
TigerNike23 said:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I am unwilling to pay 300-400% more for a cable made here than one made overseas.

A $10 cable is a $10 cable. The fact you’re charging me $40 for a $10 cable hangs on the fact you expect me as a consumer to pay significantly more for a product because Bob in Massachusetts made it. No, give me a cable that works and I’ll pay $10 for it.
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So, what are you going to do about it? Hope for the best?
 
bruinsrme said:
Chinese government will subsidize an industry until other countries can no longer viably manufacture/produce it.
Click to expand...

chmania said:
Even if this is correct, so what? It is the duty of the government of a given country to look after the welfare of its citizens.
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I'm not saying it is or isn't, but commenting on the 'if it is' angle. The 'so what' thing. Earlier in America's history, a tactic allegedly used by a monopoly was to cut prices so low competitors couldn't thrive, then raise prices when there was no competition. I suppose one could say they had a duty to look after the welfare of the company, etc..., but this was considered 'wrong,' and laws to counter monopolies ensued.

So if, and I'm not saying they are, but if China is subsidizing some of its industries to provide such unfair competitive advantage as to kill off foreign competition and secure a monopoly in that sector, that is a worrisome development and other nations need to be aware of and likely take action to counter it.
 
drrich2 said:
So if, and I'm not saying they are, but if China is subsidizing some of its industries to provide such unfair competitive advantage as to kill off foreign competition and secure a monopoly in that sector, that is a worrisome development and other nations need to be aware of and likely take action to counter it.
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It's stuff like this that tariffs were meant to counter. The EU is pretty strict in its internal market about this sort of thing. This is not what Trump is doing with his wholesale trade war, however, so here we are.
 
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