Gigemags382 said:
IrishTxAggie said:
Gigemags382 said:
Shanghai exchange down over 5% and Shenzhen exchange down over 7%. Yet to be seen about US markets, but S&P futures currently down "only" about 1.5%. Anything to read into this? Is the market sentiment that this does in fact hit China harder - and they may blink?
Or nothing can be read into it at all?
Trump's tax breaks gave him the opportunity to wage this war. The Chinese don't have the same luxury. It is hitting them much harder than it is hitting us. At the beginning of April, they dropped their VAT from 16% to 13%. It didn't even move their needle. I'll give you a quick example of how the Chinese operate and why exports and foreign markets are so vital to them.
I have manufacturing in China. I sell Product A to a company in the Philippines for $2.50USD/kg. The Chinese gov't gives us a rebates for selling the product outside of the country. Now, that same Product A if I were to sell it to a Chinese company costs ~$3.25USD/kg (All Chinese sales have to be done in Yuan, so that is approximate)!! It literally costs more money to sell the product into their own country because we have to pay the VAT and we lose export rebates that we bake into our export pricing. So, the US tacking on the tariffs is hurting them far more than it hurts us right now. Xi has a lot of power, but the villagers are starting to yell a little louder.
Thanks for the detailed post. That makes sense.
What about everyone basically saying that Trump is an idiot for not realizing that the tariffs are ultimately paid by Americans? From my recollection, that is how tariffs end up working.
Certainly if wood I manufacture in China has a 10-25% tariff imposed then naturally the price Distributors, Wholesaler's and Dealers prices will be adjusted upward. HOWEVER, not a penny of that goes to China. So for American's, yes it's a short term pain but for China its devastating. You may choose a lower priced wood, or a vinyl OR the consumer may simply move to other projects and delay the new flooring until this is resolved.
Additionally, manufacturers have sought out alternatives to China. I'm manufacturing in Viet Nam and Cambodia and that production is NEVER going to return to China. China is not only playing short-term pain but they are losing the long-term gain battle with every failed negotiation.
The tariff's are paid for by China. People saying "Trump is an idiot for not realizing the adjusted price over in the U.S." have to be the most dense and short-term thinkers I've ever seen. Not too bright either.