Economists warn that Trump's tariffs could cause tech prices to skyrocket

[SpatulaCity]

We already have a 25% tariff on semiconductors from China. The Biden Harris have stated that this will go up to 50% in 2025.

So Trump is not the only president using tariffs. Trump is a master negotiator. These are all negotiating tactics that he can use to twist the arm of countries not playing fair with the US.

From Whitehouse:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...usinesses-from-chinas-unfair-trade-practices/

 

[Kirby1]

We already have a 25% tariff on semiconductors from China. The Biden Harris have stated that this will go up to 50% in 2025.

So Trump is not the only president using tariffs. Trump is a master negotiator. These are all negotiating tactics that he can use to twist the arm of countries not playing fair with the US.

From Whitehouse:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...usinesses-from-chinas-unfair-trade-practices/

Trump did not successfully negotiate a single thing while he was president. No wall, no peace with North Korea. No drop on drug prices, nothing. All he did was lower taxes for the rich.

 

[SRB]

But, they don't want to pay US workers prevailing wages. As an excuse TSMC has stated that there is a shortage of trained US workers. So they want to import workers from Taiwan. It's all about maximizing profits.

It's more about the difference between working conditions then pay. TSMC can't understand why they can't find workers that want to work 20 hours a day,7 days a week, and then be on call the rest of the time. While some US workers and unions go to the other extreme (30 hour work week), TSMC will find they can get the job done here with the workers we have. They will just have to lower their standards a bit and spend more time sorting through what we have to fine a good fit. After all, Amazon has imposed some rather tough working conditions and seems to fill the spots just fine.

 

[SRB]

It happened before, why would it not happen again?
And I believe that many lesser Americans honestly think that it is the country of origin that pays the tariffs.


MAGA calls facts propaganda.

Oh, and his tariffs from 2016-2020 caused the same rampant inflation that is predicted here? Inflation (the rise in the costs of goods and services) skyrocketed to a massive 1.9% I don't know that the US can stand another 4 years of such economic blunders.

 

[Kirby1]

Oh, and his tariffs from 2016-2020 caused the same rampant inflation that is predicted here? Inflation (the rise in the costs of goods and services) skyrocketed to a massive 1.9% I don't know that the US can stand another 4 years of such economic blunders.

Trumps tariffs didn't cause inflation, they were far too narrow to do that. No one is arguing that tariffs before 2020 caused inflation.

But Trumps tariffs didn't do anything to further the goal of bringing chip manufacturing to the US either. All it did was raise prices on tech.

The Chips Act is what is bringing chip manufacturing to the US.

 

[SRB]

Anyway you get what you vote for

Most corporates want stability and have stated their preference
Suppose concept of plans is pretty good though

It's one thing to predict all this doom and gloom about an unknown candidate proposing a whole bunch of brand new ideas, but last time I checked this IN NO WAY applies to Trump.

8 years ago, we had drill baby drill, tariffs on steel and other things from China, proposed tariffs on Euro autos because the wanted to tariff Harley Davidson, and trade agreements China signed but never lived up to (they lied, not Trump). We ended up with the lowest energy prices in recent memory and 1.9% inflation.

Meanwhile, 4 years ago, by doing this same hand wringing and proclamations of economic disaster if he were continue, we DID elect a group with untested economic ideas on the promise that the "adults": would return to run the economy. We wound up with record inflation (about 20% over 4 years), skyrocketing energy prices (which conveniently drop around election time, due to our now depleted oil reserves being sold to lower them), the middle east is a power keg once again, and half of the country wishing the other half could be silenced for their "disinfomation"

As far as I'm concerned, I'll take PROVEN 4 years of economic security and peace over the "adults" causing rampant inflation and Neville Chamberlain foreign policy. Especially when the "adults" answer to their blunders is to call everyone not with them "crazies that want to end democracy that hate anyone NOT like them". Peddle your scare tactics, fear, and gloom somewhere else.

 

[SRB]

Trumps tariffs didn't cause inflation, they were far too narrow to do that. No one is arguing that tariffs before 2020 caused inflation.

But Trumps tariffs didn't do anything to further the goal of bringing chip manufacturing to the US either. All it did was raise prices on tech.

The Chips Act is what is bringing chip manufacturing to the US.

It always amazes me how "policy" is not decided by the overall success and failure of the policy, but more by the concept of "who's ox is gored". An unplesant, but manageable, rise in tech products for a time is THE example of how tariffs work. 2019 ended with 1.9% inflation, a massive success, despite some goods costing more. It's about the WHOLE economy, and I put my needs for food, shelter, and energy ahead of other concerns.

Also, one of the oldest tariffs in the country is workging as intended. We still have a tariff on trucks imported to this country, and we still build them here and US companies are the #1 manufacturers of trucks. Autos have NO tariffs on them. Ford makes only one car, and the choices from GM and Stelantis (although technically an Italian company), have been declining.

I would love to have total free trade, but until that comes, we have to play the game, or find out how long an economy built totally on services can remain a super power before someone realizing that 0 manufacturing results in a paper tiger.

 

[SRB]

Nvidia raised their prices for profit FAR more than any tariff did. Nothing wrong with that, but don't blame all increases in tech products on tariffs.

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

I read daily articles about how Trump is dangerous and potentially the most dangerous thing that ever happened to mankind since Sabertooth Tigers in 3 languages.

I have no doubt that if I cared to read news stories in 6 languages then the number of "Trump Dangerous" articles would increase proportionally.

The amount of anti-Trump propaganda reminds one of the USSR PRAVDA and the Soviet Union.

You aren't kidding. Teriffs are one of the best negotiating tools. It helps America. Only Europeans don't like it.

 

[scavengerspc]

Oh, and his tariffs from 2016-2020 caused the same rampant inflation that is predicted here?

His tariffs were not much of a topic at all until tRUMP started making claims that were an absolute lie aimed at the clueless. And I do not and will not deal with speculation as an absolute.
Well, unless the topic is investing.
BUT if you can't see the possibility of his future tariff plans causing a rise in inflation you do not deserve to be in this conversation.

I don't know that the US can stand another 4 years of such economic blunders.

Exactly. And that is why we can't afford another 4 years of tRUMPs do nothing, ignore the facts policies.
By mid 2022 America, and the world, started recovering from post covid inflation. And we here moved the rate from 9% then to 2.4% by end September.
Such a drop in the CPI in 25 months is quite impressive.

You aren't kidding. Teriffs are one of the best negotiating tools. It helps America. Only Europeans don't like it.

Except tRUMP mishandled the power of the tariff. Like most everything else.

 

[kiwigraeme]

It's one thing to predict all this doom and gloom about an unknown candidate proposing a whole bunch of brand new ideas, but last time I checked this IN NO WAY applies to Trump.

8 years ago, we had drill baby drill, tariffs on steel and other things from China, proposed tariffs on Euro autos because the wanted to tariff Harley Davidson, and trade agreements China signed but never lived up to (they lied, not Trump). We ended up with the lowest energy prices in recent memory and 1.9% inflation.

Meanwhile, 4 years ago, by doing this same hand wringing and proclamations of economic disaster if he were continue, we DID elect a group with untested economic ideas on the promise that the "adults": would return to run the economy. We wound up with record inflation (about 20% over 4 years), skyrocketing energy prices (which conveniently drop around election time, due to our now depleted oil reserves being sold to lower them), the middle east is a power keg once again, and half of the country wishing the other half could be silenced for their "disinfomation"

As far as I'm concerned, I'll take PROVEN 4 years of economic security and peace over the "adults" causing rampant inflation and Neville Chamberlain foreign policy. Especially when the "adults" answer to their blunders is to call everyone not with them "crazies that want to end democracy that hate anyone NOT like them". Peddle your scare tactics, fear, and gloom somewhere else.

Trump's economic period was one of the worst in the last 80 years
The only promise he kept was to enrich himself and his grifting family and tax cuts to the mega rich
He promised the likes of Michigan companies would return , what companies , they had more closures
The USA has handled the global inflation nearly the best in the Western world , thanks to Biden and Co. Despite inept GOP doing nada to help , but waste time on trying to impeach Biden , stop tighter immigration etc
The USA economy has grown much more under Biden , Stock market record levels ,same for employment. Trump squandered Obama's gains.

The USA economy has ALWAYS done better under Democratic govts from all research papers

Trump is a dreadful Businessman , very poor negotiator , over paid for so many properties , so many bankruptcies , only scams , tax fraud , daddy's money . stiffing contractors etc

He has a long list of so many stupid comments, that even 12 year olds would know better
Nuking hurricanes , if you don't test for Covid , it will go away. while sent much needed testing machines to Putin

He is so easily manipulated see D listers who hang around him and say endless compliments
Plus senile, a convicted felon , an adjudicated rapist, petty vindictive , and only cares about himself. I'll be dating that young child in ten years - what a FN creep in my part of the world.
So many USA men love him for that stuff , grabbing by the p*ssy , walking in on naked 16 year old girls - You the man Trump , we would do the same if we could

Best thing if he wins is to let country carry on and play golf , watch his endless TV and whine like baby on X as he does currently like a real man

He's anti-american worker that's the laugh- The Trump Bible made for a few bucks in China
He only cares about you , if you adore him and can give him something else you are stupid and should be locked up , media unfavourable to him closed down ( his words again and again )

Given that I think he represents a lot what American men aspire to be - No one protects women like these men. All our shortfalls are due to people with bad blood, to people who are different and don't fit into your world view. It's a scary place out there - they are eating the cats and dogs, Cities you have never visited are completed over run with colored crime gangs

Trump may lots of predictions about how life would be under Biden etc

Fear works well with easily manipulated people - yet if they asked about the mexicans they know in their town - no they are nice people , it's those in other towns

As I said the other day , those parents suing the school is because Trumps way is the best way. Choose your role models wisely

Real men have the strength to allow women to achieve and be independent, that men in their life provide a safe oasis and support and not a prison.
We all know the rich GOP women won't bleed out or die due to fear of medical care and Uncle billy raped their daughter at 12 years old. Trump being Trump , Billy being Billy what's not to admire

 

[trparky]

The USA economy has ALWAYS done better under Democratic govts from all research papers

Except in the last four years. Not only has food prices skyrocketed but also package sizes have also shrunk. Have you honestly looked at a bag of Lays potato chips lately? Holy crap! We're paying the same price for less than half the potato chips we used to get. And that's happened to nearly everything you can think of in the grocery store. It's either more expensive or the package size has shrunk to laughably stupid sizes.

So no, under the Biden administration the average American on the street is doing significantly worse than they did under the Trump administration.

And let's not forget that the moment Biden took office he made us all once again dependent upon countries that hate us for our energy needs. When Trump was in office, we were energy independent; we produced all the oil we needed without having to send our money to the Middle East. That all ended when Biden took office, he once again put us all on the Middle East oil teet.

 

[umeng2002]

No tariffs if you move your factories to the US.

 

[scavengerspc]

Except in the last four years. Not only has food prices skyrocketed but also package sizes have also shrunk. Have you honestly looked at a bag of Lays potato chips lately? Holy crap!

And the whole point has always been as out of control food prices can be here, compared to the rest of the developed world we have always been in a much better situation and it's past time you folks started learning that. Left leaning people are really getting tired of your education falling on them.

under the Biden administration the average American on the street is doing significantly worse than they did under the Trump administration.

Simply put. If ANYONE is doing worse now, or making less money now, they have no one to blame but themselves.

And here is a little education to think on. If our farmers could get enough immigrant workers, we would be even better off compared to the rest of the world.

POP QUIZ! Take a guess how much Pringles cost in London and compared to prices pre COVID.
Price info is from Morrisons near the Hammersmith district of London.
A $1.80 can of Pringles here is $2.75 there (£2.15).

 

[Starfals]

Interesting, but also... idk what to think. We got similar prices in Europe already. Maybe it's time for the US to get with the times, as they say. If we can spend that much for tech, im sure the riches country on the planet can too. You think an RTX 4090 is 1600 here? Think again. It can be a 900-1000 more in some stores. It's not the tax issue either. Stores love to add another 20%. You think an 800 bucks monitor is that much here? I have often seen prices go for around 1500. From 800-1500 is a pretty wild jump.

So yea, I guess the only thing I can say: welcome... I hope you enjoy how the rest of the world has been living xD We pick our own Trumps to make our existence harder. So at least we got a similar thing going.

 

[monkeylove]

The reason why the U.S. can't impose a lot of tariffs is because the dollar is used as a global reserve currency. That makes its exports too expensive for many countries but what it can import very cheap.

That's why the states have been experiencing trade deficits--and growing--since the mid-1970s. And the only reason why they could continue buying heavily is because they've been increasing debt overall since the early 1980s.

 

[maxxcool7421]

TSMC just finished a plant in Arizona.

that needs silicon from CHINA and industrial neon from RUSSIA ... such a stupid move to try to make the ''US independent'' .. all the chips act is, is a giant tax scam.

No china silicon imports.. no US chips get made
Google > "mining-and-refining-pure-silicon-and-the-incredible-effort-it-takes-to-get-there" <- hackaday article

No neon from russia, no chips get made
Google > "low-on-gas-ukraine-invasion-chokes-supply-of-neon-needed-for-chipmaking" <- arstechnica website

No rare imports from china? No solar panels get made
Google > "U.S. Remains Painfully Dependent on China for Silicon and Solar Panels"

every bottom line, without china imports the US cannot male any cpus, cpus, ram, etc.

 

[Axeia]

TSMC will find they can get the job done here with the workers we have. They will just have to lower their standards a bit and spend more time sorting through what we have to fine a good fit. After all, Amazon has imposed some rather tough working conditions and seems to fill the spots just fine.

Amazon is cycling through people so fast it would run though the entire US working age population in a not distant future.
Its somewhere in this video iirc

Combine that with some of the worst working conditions in the modern world and we don't exactly have a winner on our hands. I do believe that the Taiwanese mindset is long days but so is the US one to be honest. The wage gap might be smaller than most think as well as Taiwan isn't exactly some backwards country.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

It does not matter which party is in office, it's costly to do business in the U.S and the U.S. has lost the edge in manufacturing. Tech manufacturing in the U.S. will be a big feat to accomplish and labor will always be an issue. We'll need skilled labor and people will want to work. We'll be making micro-chips not potato chips.

 

[sdms96825]

Trump attended Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. So yes, he does know what a tariff is.

I thought that his "bone spurs" kept him out of Penn. Or was that something else? . . . .

 

[Nobina]

Is it propaganda, or is it simply that a president who already tried to overthrow the government to stay in power might actually be a threat to democracy? Hmmm, I wonder...

Hmmm, it's propaganda.

 

[bexwhitt]

Trump attended Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. So yes, he does know what a tariff is.

probably got someone else to take the tests, the dudes is not that smart.

 

[ZedRM]

This article is perfect example of specifically engineered fear-mongering.

 

[Lounds]

Trying to force the tech manufacturers to move their business manufacturing to the USA. All they will do is setup in Mexico as that is part of NAFTA.

 

[yannus]

This article is perfect example of specifically engineered fear-mongering.

Totally agree with you. And when I read the comments I realize that nothing changed since the last elections. People still react to manipulations on both sides without understanding that, what makes a real "demo"-"cracy" is the power of the people, something that the US (among others) don't have. Both left and right wings are owned by the same corrupt people and people dream about a savior.