“We have been planning for a potential scenario in which we would have to move goods out of China more quickly,” CEO Edward Rosenfeld told analysts on the call. “We’ve worked hard over a multiyear period to develop our factory base and our sourcing capability in alternative countries, like Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, etc.”
develop our factory base and our sourcing capability in alternative countries, like Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, etc."
From the same article:
Trump has proposed a 60% tax on imports from China, plus a universal tariff of 10%-20% on imports from all foreign countries.
So those goods still get a tariff, probably raising prices for the American consumer, just not as steep as from China. I thought the primary goal of the tariff was to move production back to America (which is a whole thing and not as simple as flipping a switch), which this does not do…and it wasn’t necessarily to try to limit China’s economy,which it probably doesn’t even put a dent in.
Tariffs alone will never build a domestic base. They can be part of a strategy to do that, but they must be paired with subsidies and tax breaks. It’s very expensive to develop a manufacturing base, so it must be done strategically. Generally it’s only worth doing for critical infrastructure and basic necessities. It’s part of why the US has focused primarily on food production and power.
Neither Trump nor his an administration have the fucking wherewithal to do any of that. Nor do they care.
Also I really think the key thing to pay attention to here is “multiyear period”. As in, it takes years for companies to reconstruct their entire production and supply chain. Imposing harsh tariffs on goods made outside the US could theoretically boost domestic production, but only if there’s actually the skills and infrastructure available domestically to make that cost-effective… And even then, the gains would take years to decades to realise. And Trump sure as shit isn’t making the kinds of education and infrastructure investments needed to actually make any of that worthwhile.