Old 05-27-20, 01:46 PM
  #41  
Koyote
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Originally Posted by dwmckee
After all is said and done, I see NO bicycle manufacturing reshoring to the US in light of the recent tariffs. Not even a hint of it. That is a fact. Cannondale & Trek are not talking about coming back. Giant and Shimano are not scoping out vacant manufacturing space in Detroit, The niche component manufacturers and bike builders that were here before largely still are here; nothing has changed except the whole retail side of the inductry has been turned upside down and prices have largely gone up. Nothing is settling back in a better place than before the tariffs. That is a fact too.

Tell me, what in the bike industry is better now, what new American jobs have been created and who is better off than before? Facts please...

I am for creation of more good paying American jobs, but the reckless, poorly conceived flailing our government has just put all of us through has had no short term or long term positive impact on our industry and has created no new cycling-related jobs for us.
Don, this is all exactly correct. The manufacturing that is leaving China is mainly relocating in other countries (mostly Southeast Asia) that are not subject to such large tariffs; they are not relocating to the US.

But I can't emphasize this strongly enough: for a variety of reasons, the tariffs are actually reducing employment in the US. One simple mechanism, which demonstrates the "flailing" you referred to, is up near me in NW Pennsylvania: a steel mill that was still in operation (though below historic capacity) had to lay off 100 employees, because Trump's tariffs applied to imported steel - and this mill was importing slabs of steel from Ukraine and hot rolling it right here in PA. They were paying $2 million per week in tariffs, but couldn't afford it, and hence the layoffs. And no, there is not a domestic source for the steel they need. So, that's a hundred jobs lost in an area that desperately needs them.

I would love to read Metieval 's response.
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