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[kruis]

Or you might have to reduce your price to remain competitive in the market. Or if you cannot afford to do that you may become uncompetitive in the market and people will instead buy domestic products / products from nations with lower tariffs.

Yep. Or another option: a company may choose to raise prices worldwide in order to sell so a tariffed product could be sold in the US for a lower price than it would otherwise be in order to keep sales from cratering.

But my point still stands: every dollar the US government earns directly through tariffs is paid for by Americans themselves.

 

[The Sum of Zero]

Agreed, anime figures collecting is really giving of serious beta vibes. I kinda get Gundam with big robots, etc. but anime…

Oh, so DragonBall and Godzilla figures fall under your "beta" definition?

Fuck that. And fuck the other dude saying "God works in mysterious ways". I started collecting Nenderoids and Figmas but it's about to become more expensive because of this bullshit.

 

[Baemono]

Anti-tariff GAF trade and taxation experts in shambles

I don't understand the -26% he's mentioning, Treasury said it grew 7% compared to last year: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/12/us-...html?msockid=370dd712f0c96f1c198cc147f15f6e3f

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I don't understand the -26% he's mentioning

He is lying.

 

[daffyduck]

..,
But, most hilariously are the building of stuff, like, say, Ford, want to build a car engine. Engine is assembled in the US, shipped to Mexico for hose installation, then over to Canada for electronics installation, and the finally, shipped back to the US, to put into the chassis, but wait, we still need the actual glass installed, that is made in China....

I am not sure how anyone can believe this is a good idea for the average citizen of the USA.


How anyone can think this is a winning situation for anyone, is, rather ludicrous.

This is going to sound out there, but bear with me: Some car parts are built (and some cars assembled) in Canada and Mexico because, *some of the cars are bought and used in Canada and Mexico*.

Seriously, why is that so hard to understand?

 

[Toons]

We made a COVID vaccine in 2 weeks.

The vaccine was a collaboration between Pfizer a largely American company and BionTech, a Greek corporation whos owner is now also the CEO of pfizer

That vaccine is the direct result of the "globalization" hat Trump is trying to end

 

[The Sum of Zero]

EDIT: Was drunk, didn't mean to be so real.

 

[calico]

But my point still stands: every dollar the US government earns directly through tariffs is paid for by Americans themselves.

That is a somewhat different point to the one I replied to. This statement is true (arguably we are 'technically true' territory), but people may tend to make false assumptions based upon it. For instance the one you appeared to make in the post I replied to. Others may assume that because an import tariff has been introduced that they must be paying more than they would be otherwise / were before - not an unreasonable assumption but not necessarily a correct one either.

I suspect the only part the customer really cares about is whether the price they have to pay has increased, and this where we may or may not be in 'technically true' territory. If the tariff causes the price they have to pay to increase I would agree it's absolutely true they are paying the tariff. If the price they pay does not increase and the exporter ends up eating the difference, then technically someone on the American side is still 'paying the tariff', but the exporter is really paying it in the meaningful sense if they are the party worse off than before. In this scenario, a portion of the price going to the US treasury (ostensibly to be spent on American citizens) rather than to the exporter is a better outcome for the customer than the previous situation.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Those who donate to Bernie's campaign and would benefit from his policies (proportionally more individual small donors and less corporate donors) are not the same who donate to President Trump's campaign and would benefit from his policies (proportionally more corporate donors and less individual small donors). The majority of the Rep party vote with the president. Nearly all of them voted for the BBB. Saying there's less overlap with the majority is not representative of what's actually happening if they all fall in line with what he wants to do.

Trump was a revolution in small-donor funding for a republican, settings records and showing a genuinely new phenomenon that fits the populist image; it was reported everywhere back in 2016 that he had a remarkable surge: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/donald-trump-small-dollar-donations-fundraising

In ratio, one would go back and see that Bernie had an even higher percentage of his funding from small, but that's a bit misleading even... in absolute terms, he achieved small donations from a dramatically smaller total number of people. It's just that his campaign never reached the stage to be taken fully seriously so he never added the big donor funds on top to topple that ratio. It's simply dishonest to pretend the Trump revolution was not as fully, or even more fully populist than anything Sanders has achieved so far in his trajectory in public life. And you should really go back and read the animating debates and discussions from none other than Bannon, who framed the entire push in terms of a populist backlash against the elite, global-oriented market forces and who said repeatedly that the stock crash of 2008 was the bomb that set up readiness for Trump among the common people.

I don't think any of the "who is charge and who benefits" analysis is going to be simple, but my point is that any thinking that tries to read the present in old terms like "republicans are for big business" is completely out of date and confused about the realigned political moment. Something else is going on. And not only are tariffs antithetical to the mainstream republican views of yesterday, they are also being supported (I know first hand) by a lot of blue collar laborers who are absolutely, legitimately fired up in anger by the globalization of jobs and industry.

 

[Rentahamster]

Trump was a revolution in small-donor funding for a republican, settings records and showing a genuinely new phenomenon that fits the populist image; it was reported everywhere back in 2016 that he had a remarkable surge: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/donald-trump-small-dollar-donations-fundraising

In ratio, one would go back and see that Bernie had an even higher percentage of his funding from small, but that's a bit misleading even... in absolute terms, he achieved small donations from a dramatically smaller total number of people. It's just that his campaign never reached the stage to be taken fully seriously so he never added the big donor funds on top to topple that ratio. It's simply dishonest to pretend the Trump revolution was not as fully, or even more fully populist than anything Sanders has achieved so far in his trajectory in public life. And you should really go back and read the animating debates and discussions from none other than Bannon, who framed the entire push in terms of a populist backlash against the elite, global-oriented market forces and who said repeatedly that the stock crash of 2008 was the bomb that set up readiness for Trump among the common people.

I don't think any of the "who is charge and who benefits" analysis is going to be simple, but my point is that any thinking that tries to read the present in old terms like "republicans are for big business" is completely out of date and confused about the realigned political moment. Something else is going on. And not only are tariffs antithetical to the mainstream republican views of yesterday, they are also being supported (I know first hand) by a lot of blue collar laborers who are absolutely, legitimately fired up in anger by the globalization of jobs and industry.

If I point out general facts of the matter and you spin that information to fit the narrative that it sounds like you support, I don't think I'm the one being partisan here.

 

[rubik's dude]

A lot of universities rely on cheap electronics, circuit boards, and whatever else for teaching things like engineering classes. They did for mine. And like mine, most universities also already have budget struggles. How are we supposed to teach the next generation of American engineers if our universities can't afford the tools needed to teach the students?

 

[Idleyes]

I'm gonna keep my mouth shut.

 

[Madonis]

The logic behind this whole anti-trade push is about as sound as imposing a fee on taxi cabs because you want to protect the horse-driven cart.

 

[rubik's dude]

Interesting article from USPS and CBP's perspective: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/news...s-is-chaos-for-shippers-beyond-temu-and-shein

The chaos may be felt most acutely inside the US Postal Service itself. The post office handles a significant number of the low-cost goods that qualify for de minimis. The total number of such shipments last year was almost 1.4 billion, according to US Customs and Border Protection. Consultants say that, unlike private-sector carriers such as DHL, FedEx and UPS, which have a long history of moving higher-value, non-duty-exempt packages through their systems, the USPS isn't prepared to handle the volume of new paperwork likely to be required once the de minimis exception expires. "The Postal Service—and, I think, unfairly—has a reputation for being inefficient," says Adi Karamcheti, a senior consultant at Shipware. "But they're just not going to be good at this."

That's a generous assessment compared with one from Alison Layfield, vice president for product development at ePost Global, a US-based international direct-to-consumer shipping provider, who warns of a "potential bottleneck nightmare" because neither the USPS nor CBP is equipped to handle duty collection on the millions of packages currently entering the US under the de minimis exemption $800 threshold. "There's going to be some sort of breakdown," Layfield says.

The USPS declined to comment on what measures it might be taking to avoid this; the CBP said it was so overwhelmed by requests from reporters that it wouldn't be able to provide a response in time for publication.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Kinda disgusting how some people in this thread care more about gurgling Trump's cheeto balls over anything else.

It's okay to admit your guy has done wrong. I've done that many times with Bush and Obama. But everyone treats Trump like he's...well, Antichrist fits to a T, if you've ever read Revelations.

Oh, so DragonBall and Godzilla figures fall under your "beta" definition?

Fuck that. And fuck the other dude saying "God works in mysterious ways". I started collecting Nenderoids and Figmas but it's about to become more expensive because of this bullshit.

bro you can't expect anyone to take you seriously when price increases on plastic anime toys made by children in factories is your biggest talking point

 

[JayK47]

We are truly addicted to cheap Chinese shit. I can see some of you shaking while typing why we need it. Do you know why it is cheaper in China? Child labor, slave labor, lax labor laws, and no damn environmental concerns. But you don't care about that do you. You just want cheap shit.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

We are truly addicted to cheap Chinese shit. I can see some of you shaking while typing why we need it. Do you know why it is cheaper in China? Child labor, slave labor, lax labor laws, and no damn environmental concerns. But you don't care about that do you. You just want cheap shit.

YUP! people losing their shit over anime figurines of all shit

 

[Madonis]

bro you can't expect anyone to take you seriously when price increases on plastic anime toys made by children in factories is your biggest talking point

They're just a type of luxury good. You could replace it with some other example, but people being petty about figures in a gaming forum of all places is rather silly.

Point is, international trade has allowed many people to easily access luxury goods not made in America. Historically, that is a sign of prosperity and wealth.

Pretending that you can turn back the clock and restrict trade in luxury goods isn't going to magically revive manufacturing nor will it change people's tastes either.

 

[Bojji]

We are truly addicted to cheap Chinese shit. I can see some of you shaking while typing why we need it. Do you know why it is cheaper in China? Child labor, slave labor, lax labor laws, and no damn environmental concerns. But you don't care about that do you. You just want cheap shit.

They're just a type of luxury good. You could replace it with some other example, but people being petty about figures in a gaming forum of all places is rather silly.

Point is, international trade has allowed many people to easily access luxury goods not made in America. Historically, that is a sign of prosperity and wealth.

Pretending that you can turn back the clock and restrict trade in luxury goods isn't going to magically revive manufacturing nor will it change people's tastes either.

Cheap "luxury" shit is pretty much all that is left for Gen Z and Millenials:



World was fucked at some point. Now they want to take away cheap shit as well.

Really good video BTW.

 

[Madonis]

We are truly addicted to cheap Chinese shit. I can see some of you shaking while typing why we need it. Do you know why it is cheaper in China? Child labor, slave labor, lax labor laws, and no damn environmental concerns. But you don't care about that do you. You just want cheap shit.

If you somehow started making all of those things inside the U.S., the prices would become unaffordable rather quickly. Less people could buy them.

Try convincing most Americans, especially those under the age of 50, that making many of their interests artificially more expensive is actually a good thing.

Sooner or later, you're going to have a political backlash. Especially when folks were whining about inflation just a year or two ago and this is already getting worse.

Cheap "luxury" shit is pretty much all that is left for Gen Z and Millenials:



World was fucked at some point. Now they want to take away cheap shit as well.

Really good video BTW.

Interesting. Not a bad video, I'll say that out of the gate. I like that he admits there isn't a simple solution involved.

 

[rubik's dude]

They're just a type of luxury good. You could replace it with some other example, but people being petty about figures in a gaming forum of all places is rather silly.

Point is, international trade has allowed many people to easily access luxury goods not made in America. Historically, that is a sign of prosperity and wealth.

Pretending that you can turn back the clock and restrict trade in luxury goods isn't going to magically revive manufacturing nor will it change people's tastes either.

Mocking anime figures is just a ragebait tactic to draw attention away from how poorly rolled out all of this was.

USPS and CBP don't have the capacity to do what needs to be done, nor do they even know what to do right now, and neither does any other developed country in the world, which is why they're effectively suspending trade with the US.

Poor communication from the top down has absolutely nothing to do with child laborers in China, even though a child-like man was responsible for putting us in this position.

 

[Toons]

bro you can't expect anyone to take you seriously when price increases on plastic anime toys made by children in factories is your biggest talking point

Im hoping your name is just ironic then

In any case, the actual issue is that it won't stop at plastic toys. It's going to affect stuff people use to operate on a basic level in their daily life.

 

[rubik's dude]

Im hoping your name is just ironic then

I thought the same thing lol

 

[Idleyes]

We are truly addicted to cheap Chinese shit. I can see some of you shaking while typing why we need it. Do you know why it is cheaper in China? Child labor, slave labor, lax labor laws, and no damn environmental concerns. But you don't care about that do you. You just want cheap shit.

Yo imma get political up in this joint. Regular people aren't the ones deciding where factories get built. That's on corporations. They chase lower costs for themselves, not so they can give us a discount. They make stuff dirt cheap overseas, ship it for pennies, then sell it at a fat margin. Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton are usually cited as key turning points. If you want to frame it in terms of left vs. right, both parties played their part, each gave the snowball that push until it grew into the boulder we're dealing with today.

The Democrats and Republicans share many of the same big donors.

Sure, everyone likes cheap stuff, but cheap just means the lowest option on the shelf, not automatically 'made in China' - though clearly that is the case right now, but you know what I mean.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Im hoping your name is just ironic then

only a few random companies even still make VHS tapes and they're typically collectors items/limited runs

believe it or not my tapes are things I just never got rid of, outside of a few donations I've received from shops that are closing

although I used to do some trading back in the day

I've mentioned this before, but I really only collected tapes when they were out of print and there was no digital version online. I was big into preservation

Nowadays, most stuff has been uploaded and preserved so I don't really collect anymore

 

[Idleyes]

Honestly, and this might land me in GAF jail, the U.S. government has been gaslighting its own people forever, keeping everyone bickering while they run the show. Even slavery wasn't half the country suddenly discovering their 'conscience', it was mainly because they didn't want the South stacking political influence by spreading into new states.

Fast forward, and some folks think America did that because they finally realized that "all men were created equal"? Like really? The same America that nearly erased Native Americans off the map?

Nah bruh, there's always a real agenda hiding behind the broadcasted one. This ain't me hating on America, she is what she is, a bad bitch, and I love that bitch. I just prefer it when she keeps it real. Cause I can't stand all these people she got all riled up over her gaslighting bullshit. They always end up making poor knee jerk decisions as a result. Like voting on shit shows like Biden, Bush, Trump & Clinton.

Let me guess, a Newsom & Vance Presidential debate is next? Good lord.

[End of insane Rant]

 

[rubik's dude]

Hell yeah my last package made it through.

I've mentioned this before, but I really only collected tapes when they were out of print and there was no digital version online. I was big into preservation

Nowadays, most stuff has been uploaded and preserved so I don't really collect anymore

I did the same for a few shows that never saw a release outside of VHS. Had an S-VHS player with an inline-TBC and everything, although I never got an external TBC, those things are insanely expensive for how worn and used they are at this point.

Did you do any restoration work or just archive and preservation?

 

[JayK47]

Sending labor to cheaper countries is non-partisan. Yes, the corporations are doing it, but they are doing it with help from the politicians.

Goods made in the US are not "unaffordable". Far from it. I try to buy as much as I can from the US and it tends to be maybe 20% more, if that. It is not some flat number. We bought a dog carrier, US made, and I was surprised how cheap it was. Things absolutely can be made in the US and can be plenty affordable. It is basically a lie that you are told to keep you buying cheap shit from China. They scare you into thinking that is the only way. And it works. Just look at the reaction here.

You also do not need to buy so much or so often. I still have my 7 year old cell phone, my 6 year old PC, and 10+ year old TVs. You do not need the latest 4K TV with the latest Pro Console and the latest iPhone. You could literally pay more and just buy those items less. Now get off my lawn.

 

[rubik's dude]

Goods made in the US are not "unaffordable". Far from it. I try to buy as much as I can from the US and it tends to be maybe 20% more, if that. It is not some flat number. We bought a dog carrier, US made, and I was surprised how cheap it was. Things absolutely can be made in the US and can be plenty affordable. It is basically a lie that you are told to keep you buying cheap shit from China. They scare you into thinking that is the only way. And it works. Just look at the reaction here.

You also do not need to buy so much or so often. I still have my 7 year old cell phone, my 6 year old PC, and 10+ year old TVs. You do not need the latest 4K TV with the latest Pro Console and the latest iPhone. You could literally pay more and just buy those items less. Now get off my lawn.

Executive leadership failed to inform or prepare our already understaffed postal system and customs border agencies for the new trade regulations, which caused suspensions globally to our country.

That's a failure we can confidently claim was "Made in America." Maybe if the technology the government ran on wasn't 7 year old cell phones and 6 year old PCs, they could've done better.

 

[Idleyes]

Sending labor to cheaper countries is non-partisan. Yes, the corporations are doing it, but they are doing it with help from the politicians.

And the politicians do it because they answer to their biggest donors. Guess who that is?

 

[Madonis]

Sending labor to cheaper countries is non-partisan. Yes, the corporations are doing it, but they are doing it with help from the politicians.

Goods made in the US are not "unaffordable". Far from it. I try to buy as much as I can from the US and it tends to be maybe 20% more, if that. It is not some flat number. We bought a dog carrier, US made, and I was surprised how cheap it was. Things absolutely can be made in the US and can be plenty affordable. It is basically a lie that you are told to keep you buying cheap shit from China. They scare you into thinking that is the only way. And it works. Just look at the reaction here.

You also do not need to buy so much or so often. I still have my 7 year old cell phone, my 6 year old PC, and 10+ year old TVs. You do not need the latest 4K TV with the latest Pro Console and the latest iPhone. You could literally pay more and just buy those items less. Now get off my lawn.

Frankly, it depends on the specific product. For some items, like your dog carrier, you may be correct. It's not like nothing is being made domestically right now. For others? Nope, there's a limit to what is being produced locally and not everything is available. Therefore, the idea that you can simply replace all trade in goods (and, for that matter, services) with exclusively U.S.-based alternatives is...well, calling it a case of "pie in the sky" would be generous.

Furthermore, there's the issue of volume and specialty items. Not all of those U.S.-based substitutes are produced in sufficient numbers and unique brand items are hard to fully replicate. There's a reason why folks will seek out certain things Made in Japan, Made in Italy or Made in Switzerland rather than stick with Made in the USA. We're not exclusively talking about Made in China here, although that's certainly the elephant in the room.

You're also not going to convince Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Apple and others to shift all or even most of their production to the U.S. in any meaningful sense. They already assemble certain things in the U.S. but they still need to bring in parts from abroad in order to sell the products within a certain price range.

Telling Americans to buy less may even sound ethically admirable, but it's unrealistic when you're still living within a consumer-centric, capitalist society. Asking folks to self-sacrifice and cut their luxury purchases, both cheap and otherwise, for the sake of a pipe dream isn't going to be a popular position. It represents a loss of freedom and the government telling you what to do with your own time and money.

 

[Rentahamster]

Asking folks to self-sacrifice and cut their luxury purchases, both cheap and otherwise, for the sake of a pipe dream isn't going to be a popular position.

Not unless you wrap the message in a culture war and nationalism gift box

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

If I point out general facts of the matter and you spin that information to fit the narrative that it sounds like you support, I don't think I'm the one being partisan here.

This is certainly not the case; you have relied exclusively in your posts on attempts to assign motive to the powers behind tarrifs etc, rather than staying in the factual realm of policy debate.

I mean, this is your only substantive post so far, and it is nothing but a hilarious "2004 wants its politics back" misreading of the coalitions involved:

The same capitalists who implemented those policies to outsource and globalize in order to increase shareholder profits for their donors and disenfranchise the working class by funneling the wealth accumulation towards the rich are the same ones who are currently running the country

This is simply a confusion; if fact, with regard to the tariffs, there is a heated war between the old globalize/outsource forces of market ideology (Republican part of 20 years ago) and the newer groups that have fought to stand their ground building a worker-oriented, anti-global / protectionist set of policies (think tanks like American Compass). The former group wants nothing more than to have Trump abandon all tariff, protectionist, and interventionist measures.

This shows a complete misunderstanding of the trajectory of every major group involved, enough that it's not really possible for you to build out coherent views on this basis.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The same capitalists who implemented those policies to outsource and globalize in order to increase shareholder profits for their donors and disenfranchise the working class by funneling the wealth accumulation towards the rich are the same ones who are currently running the country, which coincidentally is also increasing shareholder profits for their donors and disenfranchising the working class by funneling wealth accumulation towards the already rich. I have little confidence they have your best interests in mind.

Bro have you just ignored the entire last decade of American politics when Trump completely reshaped the Republican Party into a populist party and all of the capitalists have fled to the Democrats?

 

[rubik's dude]

Telling Americans to buy less may even sound ethically admirable, but it's unrealistic when you're still living within a consumer-centric, capitalist society. Asking folks to self-sacrifice and cut their luxury purchases, both cheap and otherwise, for the sake of a pipe dream isn't going to be a popular position. It represents a loss of freedom and the government telling you what to do with your own time and money.

Exactly, but not even just the government, there are people here dictating how others should be spending their money, clinging to the idea that only buying American-made products will "fix" the country, because they believe it was better before globalization.

Why should anyone change their spending habits just because some people are stuck in the past?

 

[Richard Packer]

only a few random companies even still make VHS tapes and they're typically collectors items/limited runs

believe it or not my tapes are things I just never got rid of, outside of a few donations I've received from shops that are closing

although I used to do some trading back in the day

I've mentioned this before, but I really only collected tapes when they were out of print and there was no digital version online. I was big into preservation

Nowadays, most stuff has been uploaded and preserved so I don't really collect anymore

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

I did the same for a few shows that never saw a release outside of VHS. Had an S-VHS player with an inline-TBC and everything, although I never got an external TBC, those things are insanely expensive for how worn and used they are at this point.

Did you do any restoration work or just archive and preservation?

Good shit. No restoration work on my end. That would be amazing, but it goes far outside my technical skills.

 

[GHound]

Mocking anime figures is just a ragebait tactic to draw attention away from how poorly rolled out all of this was.

USPS and CBP don't have the capacity to do what needs to be done, nor do they even know what to do right now, and neither does any other developed country in the world, which is why they're effectively suspending trade with the US.

Poor communication from the top down has absolutely nothing to do with child laborers in China, even though a child-like man was responsible for putting us in this position.

Most importantly it makes it perfectly clear that it couldn't possibly have been them when the headlines were talking about people going to the hospital with husbando figures shoved in their asses. No sir.

 

[Toons]

Bro have you just ignored the entire last decade of American politics when Trump completely reshaped the Republican Party into a populist party and all of the capitalists have fled to the Democrats?

You mean like the literal owner of Amazon, Facebook, and tesla who ran over to the democrats and definitely were not at trumps rally and on his donor list?

 

[Baemono]

all of the capitalists have fled to the Democrats?

Looked like they came back for the second term

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

You mean like the literal owner of Amazon, Facebook, and tesla

what the hell are you talking about, Bezos and Zuckerberg were definitely not Trump supporters

 

[Toons]

what the hell are you talking about, Bezos and Zuckerberg were definitely not Trump supporters

Heres them both at his inauguration after helping fund his election campaign

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Heres them both at his inauguration after helping fund his election campaign

this is remarkably stupid

They didn't "fund his election campaign" -- in fact they both gave massive contributions to Harris during the campaign.

They donated after he was elected to his "inaugural fund." That's what you do when the power has already taken over, and you're trying your best to saddle up and get favor. It's what everyone does. You're confusing things completely at this point.

EDIT: while I"m at it, the 2 people on the left in that photo (Zuck, Bezos) absolutely hate the third guy, Elon. These are factions that despise each other openly. Making a tactical appearance at inauguration has nothing to do with that.

Also, regarding Musk: for anyone who actually pays attention, he has been on thin ice for a long time and heavily at war with much of the Trump coalition. And it relates specifically to the current topic of tariffs, outsourcing, & H1B visas. It blew up months ago and led to a heavy infighting split, because Musk is considered now by most of the base to be a problem since he clearly favors unfettered global capital, which is also why his influence has been pushed out now that he expended his usefulness. But you wouldn't know any of this if you don't pay attention to the actual faction shifts of the past years.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Heres them both at his inauguration after helping fund his election campaign

This is false

Stop getting your news from social media libtards

 

[rubik's dude]

Mexico added to the list: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/...-united-states-over-tariff-confusion-00533242

 

[kruis]

We are truly addicted to cheap Chinese shit. I can see some of you shaking while typing why we need it. Do you know why it is cheaper in China? Child labor, slave labor, lax labor laws, and no damn environmental concerns. But you don't care about that do you. You just want cheap shit.

It's kinda ironic that now China has become an enemy of the west (mostly because of its economic success) the US is pushing companies to move production to other SE Asian countries that have much laxer laws and less concern for the environment than China.

 

[Idleyes]

Trump's core idea makes sense, sell more, buy less to protect U.S. industries. But the execution has been a mess: tariffs sparked a trade war, farmers needed $28B in bailouts, steel prices spiked, the trade deficit with China barely shifted, and now foreign postal services are suspending shipments because he scrapped the de minimis rule with only 30 days' notice. I still fully support the idea of bringing manufacturing back home and leveling the playing field so U.S. producers aren't constantly undercut by cheap imports, but the rollout needs to be smarter. The U.S. right now isn't even built to suddenly pump out massive volumes of cheap shit anyway. Our export edge is in high-value, specialized sectors like aircraft, semiconductors, medical equipment. We ain't pumping out knockoff phone chargers and 'World's Best Dad' mugs. That stuff? We're the buyers. So the only reason for nuking the de minimis rule from my view is to cash grab for the US Treasury (which is not a bad thing).

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Killing the de minimis loophole is absolutely the right policy.

Here's NPR

The U.S. de minimis threshold used to be $200 — that is, packages worth $200 or less were not subject to taxes and tariffs. But in 2016, the country raised the threshold sharply to $800, one of the highest in the world. The spike came out of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, signed by then-President Barack Obama.

Online retailers and express delivery companies backed the change, Wallach says.

"You were now sort of creating this loophole to all the normal customs rules, including the inspection," Wallach says. The shift eased the way for the importation of products that would have otherwise faced hurdles, she says, from safety standards to endangered species laws and bans on forced labor.

After the 2016 shift, de minimis shipments started to dominate cargo entering the U.S. The number of such shipments grew from 140 million in 2014 to 1.36 billion in 2024, according to a January press release from Customs and Border Protection.

With numbers like that, policymakers started referring to the de minimis exemption as a loophole. The rule also inspired new business models for huge discount retailers like Temu and Shein, which used de minimis to ship ultra-cheap goods directly to Americans. Smaller retailers, like Etsy vendors based outside of the U.S., also got a boost.

This nonsense created the Chinese-trash takeover of commerce and destruction of quality on goods in the US; I watched it in realtime.

It also led to more and more counterfeit crap coming in:

Counterfeit and unsafe products that have reached U.S. consumers include bicycles, bike helmets and hoverboards, according to Wallach. Without de minimis, she adds, products will actually be inspected to make sure they're genuine.

and even the EU realizes it has been overtaken gradually by Chinese trash:

But the EU is contemplating making its own changes to de minimis, citing many of the same issues seen in the U.S. A recent research paper found that the EU has seen its annual number of e-commerce parcels — mostly low-value goods from companies like Temu — nearly double from a year ago, to about 4.6 billion.

Too many people who were apparently born yesterday just assume that everything about the current world trade order is a natural consequence, rather than a result of specific decisions over the past 2 decades. Losing the ability to manufacture high-tech parts like microchips was a choice and a mistake. Letting Chinese trash fill up the world was a choice and a mistake.

It's not "comparative advantage" [lol], it's all artificially conferred and negotiated advantage, which can be renegotiated.

 

[daffyduck]

It's kinda ironic that now China has become an enemy of the west (mostly because of its economic success) the US is pushing companies to move production to other SE Asian countries that have much laxer laws and less concern for the environment than China.

No, that's not why they are the enemy of the west.

 

[Wilhelm_85]

What are all of you panicking right now going to do when new procedures are established and deliveries resume?

Be very silent, I assume.