tuomkok wrote:
I also do not believe that US prices would be reduced to the old level even if the tariffs were removed now.
I suspect this is true - once manufacturers and retailers see enough consumers are willing to pay the higher prices, there is little incentive to lower them again.
Cliff L. wrote:
I suspect this is true - once manufacturers and retailers see enough consumers are willing to pay the higher prices, there is little incentive to lower them again.
Cliff L. wrote:
I suspect this is true - once manufacturers and retailers see enough consumers are willing to pay the higher prices, there is little incentive to lower them again.
A force working to counteract that, assuming that these idiotic tariffs eventually go away, may be that companies want to get their sales back on track after being suppressed by the addition of the large import tax… and that may induce them to lower prices or at least offer some sales.
gdanmitchell wrote:
A force working to counteract that, assuming that these idiotic tariffs eventually go away, may be that companies want to get their sales back on track after being suppressed by the addition of the large import tax… and that may induce them to lower prices or at least offer some sales.
I think that's a logical assumption. Even Leica moved their battery prices up AND back down to follow the tariff changes a few months ago.
gdanmitchell wrote:
We spent six weeks in Europe in April-June and had opportunities to speak to quite a few Europeans (and travelers from other parts of the world.) Almost uniformly the reaction was along the lines of yours — disbelief that what they regarded as a great country had done this damage to itself, incredulity that a nation that they thought was an ally was now attacking them, and a clear recognition of the self-harm that the US “policies” are producing.
(At the same time, for those who wonder, virtually everyone we met did not think this reflected on us as individuals, and we had no difficult or uncomfortable run-ins based on this.)
International trust in our great nation has been deeply undermined by this administration. ...Show more →
Agree! Add to that….incomprehensible absence of an organised opposition and/or a massive uproar among US citizens.
Mujabad123 wrote:
Agree! Add to that….incomprehensible absence of an organised opposition and/or a massive uproar among US citizens.
Some of us are disappointed about that, too. There’s a writer/pundit I follow (thought don’t always agree with) named Tom Nichols. (Find him online and as a writer for The Atlantic and by looking for several books he has written.) He has a theory about what is going on with the American population — to put it simply, because we have had it so good for so long, we complain too much about little things and presume that someone else will fix everything. The first point is a partial explanation for what happened in our election. The second relates to why it is hard to get people to act.
What if you learnt that expressed in USD (global reserve currency) equivalent, the US is consuming ~35% while producing under 18% of everything that is produced in the world today? Would you think that all recent developments is part of necessary and unavoidable rebalancing of the world economy?
I will add one more here:
Do you think that tariffs on imports would be the right measure to stimulate growth of internal manufacturing and at the same time reduction in external consumption, contributing to a smoother and more natural rebalancing? If not, do you have a better idea what may?
Mujabad123 wrote:
Agree! Add to that….incomprehensible absence of an organised opposition and/or a massive uproar among US citizens.
The tariffs that just went into effect won't hit most markets for 7 months, supposedly because most major retailers like Amazon and Walmart have pre-tariff stock that won't run out until then.
Most of us don't look up until something affects us directly and deeply.
SergeyT wrote:
What if you learnt that expressed in USD (global reserve currency) equivalent, the US is consuming ~35% while producing under 18% of everything that is produced in the world today? Would you think that all recent developments is part of necessary and unavoidable rebalancing of the world economy?
I will add one more here:
Do you think that tariffs on imports would be the right measure to stimulate growth of internal manufacturing and at the same time reduction in external consumption, contributing to a smoother and more natural rebalancing? If not, do you have a better idea what may?
The world global economy took 40 years to get to the point we are at today. You're not going to fix it by blanket tariffs and damaging our friendly trading partners economies and ours.
highdesertmesa wrote:
The tariffs that just went into effect won't hit most markets for 7 months, supposedly because most major retailers like Amazon and Walmart have pre-tariff stock that won't run out until then.
Most of us don't look up until something affects us directly and deeply.
Agree, but I was reacting on what gdanmitchell said about the sentiment in Europe regarding the USA in general. Beside tariffs it's also about the general attitude of the US administration towards Europe (negative, hostile and interfering with local politics). Too bad (and incomprehensible to many Europeans), that it will indeed probably take negative effects on US citizens, before any uproar will be visible (IF ANY….or if any is still possible at all!).
Signs seem to be so clear.
gdanmitchell wrote:
Some of us are disappointed about that, too. There’s a writer/pundit I follow (thought don’t always agree with) named Tom Nichols. (Find him online and as a writer for The Atlantic and by looking for several books he has written.) He has a theory about what is going on with the American population — to put it simply, because we have had it so good for so long, we complain too much about little things and presume that someone else will fix everything. The first point is a partial explanation for what happened in our election. The second relates to why it is hard to get people to act....Show more →
Agree again. But, you're not alone….this tendency can be noticed in Europe as well…maybe even world wide.
tuomkok wrote:
Tariffs are not the only reason why prices are going up in US. Also the value of usd has fallen significantly in value compared to most other major currencies.
As someone living in Europe I am watching the changes in US in disbelief My prediction is that only a small portion of your self-inflicted inflation can be seen now. The consequences of the whole process will be visible in the longer term. I also do not believe that US prices would be reduced to the old level even if the tariffs were removed now.
Correct. The inflation has been hurting a lot more than the tariffs for years now and happened way before any tariffs and has and is causing more damage. Tariffs are a minor fly in the turd of previous management. It's just funny how everyone was silent about the massive inflation on goods necessary for daily life and all upset about tariffs on goods that often are not necessary for daily life.
cbass wrote:
...It's just funny how everyone was silent about the massive inflation on goods necessary for daily life and all upset about tariffs on goods that often are not necessary for daily life.
Here there's a lot of photography talk, a narrower set of goods, products and services. Here I would expect noise about price increases.
To say "everyone was silent", whether here in FM, the electorate at large or everywhere in between is not a factual statement.
cbass wrote:
Correct. The inflation has been hurting a lot more than the tariffs for years now and happened way before any tariffs and has and is causing more damage. Tariffs are a minor fly in the turd of previous management. It's just funny how everyone was silent about the massive inflation on goods necessary for daily life and all upset about tariffs on goods that often are not necessary for daily life.
Unfortunately, every single sentence you wrote is incorrect.
SergeyT wrote:
What if you learnt that expressed in USD (global reserve currency) equivalent, the US is consuming ~35% while producing under 18% of everything that is produced in the world today? Would you think that all recent developments is part of necessary and unavoidable rebalancing of the world economy?
I will add one more here:
Do you think that tariffs on imports would be the right measure to stimulate growth of internal manufacturing and at the same time reduction in external consumption, contributing to a smoother and more natural rebalancing? If not, do you have a better idea what may?
To your first question: No. And I already knew this. Explain to me why a rebalancing is necessary. Shouldn't you be happy that the rest of the world is paying for your lifestyle?
To your second question: Absolutely categorically not. Also, there is nothing smooth and natural about tariffs. That much should be obvious.
To your last question: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/a-balance-of-payments-primer-part Hint: The "Big, Best and Beautiful" or whatever bill does not help.
By the way, the Biden administration started programs supporting domestic manufacturing. The current one, killed them all off again.
Now for the sake of this threat, let's keep to the undeniable facts. Tariffs will increase the price of imports. This will make new photography equipment more expensive. The recent changes in the USD exchange rate aggravate these price pressures. The effect on used gear prices is ambiguous. On the one hand the substitution effect will increase demand for used equipment, on the other hand (potentially) lower real incomes/wealth might increase the supply of used gear.
Mujabad123 wrote:
Agree, but I was reacting on what gdanmitchell said about the sentiment in Europe regarding the USA in general. Beside tariffs it's also about the general attitude of the US administration towards Europe (negative, hostile and interfering with local politics). Too bad (and incomprehensible to many Europeans), that it will indeed probably take negative effects on US citizens, before any uproar will be visible (IF ANY….or if any is still possible at all!).
Signs seem to be so clear.
Many in the U.S., rightly or wrongly, resent the tax burden that U.S. military support for Europe places on them. The current U.S. administration has taken advantage of that sentiment to achieve their own political goals.
Mujabad123 wrote:
Agree, but I was reacting on what gdanmitchell said about the sentiment in Europe regarding the USA in general. Beside tariffs it's also about the general attitude of the US administration towards Europe (negative, hostile and interfering with local politics). Too bad (and incomprehensible to many Europeans), that it will indeed probably take negative effects on US citizens, before any uproar will be visible (IF ANY….or if any is still possible at all!).
Signs seem to be so clear.
Unfortunately, Europe at large proved twice in 30 years that they cannot be trusted to not be nannied and had to be saved by outside forces. The only reason Europe still exists as it does is because a tremendous sacrifice was made by the rest of the world.
The unprecedented (by modern standards) peace Europe has enjoyed for the last 80 years is a direct result of the USA flexing its might via a global presence. Why Europeans continue to take this for granted is beyond me, but is likely because most living Euros have never experienced a world without the US military in their backyard.
My prediction is that only a small portion of your self-inflicted inflation can be seen now. The consequences of the whole process will be visible in the longer term. I also do not believe that US prices would be reduced to the old level even if the tariffs were removed now.