Higher prices on imported gear, thanks to Trump?

[JCOConnell]

Since Trump is commited to "fairer" trade, could this mean higher tariffs on imported stereo gear?

[jcmusic]

Buy American!!!

[JCOConnell]

Buy American!!!

I do, but some components, like carts, are mostly imports.

[Beaur]

Sure anything is possible but then you have to believe that the hi-end audio industry is a thriving market that shows plenty of potential for growth, has political clout and can generate enough revenue to make it worthwhile.

[cpp]

Since Trump is commited to "fairer" trade, could this mean higher tariffs on imported stereo gear?

I guess we all have to wait and see.

[JackD201]

USD at a low. Easier for us to import US goods now. Buy American!

[Mike Lavigne]

it's one small world.

I have American speakers, most of my cables, turntable, tone arms, server and NAS, tape repro, chassis grounding, server linear power supply, 10kva Isolation Transformer, and rack.

I have Swiss amplifiers, preamp, active isolation, and RTR master recorders.

Polish dac. Japanese recti and German driver tubes.

extra tubes from everywhere.

German cartridge, Danish cartridge, Swedish signal path grounding, UK and French USB cables, UK server case, Chinese server linear power supplies, Japanese outlets, plugs, record flattener and disc demagnetizer. Polish server components. Korean record cleaner.

'Perfect' chair from America, K10 DoDo chair from Italy, sofa from Sweden, Aeron chairs from America.

I'm sure most of the gear I have uses parts and materials sourced from everywhere.

[david k]

Since Trump is commited to "fairer" trade, could this mean higher tariffs on imported stereo gear?

Not necessarily, fairer trade means that other countries drop their tariffs of US goods which in some cases is in triple digits, not to mention the bureaucracy they have in place when they're enjoying zero percent duty over here! The excuse for this type of one sided trade deal was to help local 3rd world economies grow, now ours is in dire need of growth. Even with EU, you won't believe how high tariffs are on imported US goods. Try shipping to Canada or Mexico and see what you face, he's right barriers should come down for US sourced products in all those countries that have lop sided treaties with us.

david

[JCOConnell]

Not necessarily, fairer trade means that other countries drop their tariffs of US goods which in some cases is in triple digits, not to mention the bureaucracy they have in place when they're enjoying zero percent duty over here! The excuse for this type of one sided trade deal was to help local 3rd world economies grow, now ours is in dire need of growth. Even with EU, you won't believe how high tariffs are on imported US goods. Try shipping to Canada or Mexico and see what you face, he's right barriers should come down for US sourced products in all those countries that have lop sided treaties with us.

david

I thought NAFTA opened up free trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico and the problem is we cant compete due to our higher wages/costs down there.

[david k]

Like they say the devil is in the details JC, NAFTA has large holes in it and puts us at a disadvantage. Wages are only part of the equation and not necessarily important in all industry there are many other factors including regulations quality human capital and local culture comes into play too. Cost wise a strong domestic cottage industry can easily be competitive with anything made globally if not hampered by regulations here and abroad. I've been on both ends of the equation, it's a tangled mess.

david

[Johnny Vinyl]

While NAFTA has been well received and supported by Canada, it's by no means perfect. Canada has already indicated (although not officially-yet) that it would be willing to reopen it.

[david k]

While NAFTA has been well received and supported by Canada, it's by no means perfect. Canada has already indicated (although not officially-yet) that it would be willing to reopen it.

Sure, times and circumstances have changed too for all the nations involved the agreements can do with revamping.

david

[rockitman]

I'm more worried about correcting the direction of the country (currently the wrong direction) than the price for overseas made stereo equipment. Priorities !

[Johnny Vinyl]

Sure, times and circumstances have changed too for all the nations involved the agreements can do with revamping.

david

Yep. Nothing wrong with revisiting it every 5 years or decade.

[Johnny Vinyl]

I thought NAFTA opened up free trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico and the problem is we cant compete due to our higher wages/costs down there.

That's only partly true as Canada's wages tend to be higher than in the U.S. Trade has more than tripled for all 3 countries since NAFTA, and the U.S. trade imbalance with Canada (goods only...not all services where you actually have a surplus) has steadily been improving.

Trade imbalance from NAFTA stands at about $90 Billion ($35B Canada/$55B Mexico), which is a huge number no doubt, but it pales in comparison to that of trade between the EU ($150 Billion) and China ($350 Billion). Trump would be smart not to make too much of a fuss about NAFTA and instead focus his efforts elsewhere.