# Tariffs On Metals Means High Auto Prices?



## fmdog44 (Jun 30, 2018)

Harley Davidson recently said the tariffs on metals will up the price of the bikes by $2,200 so they are relocating overseas for some parts. So what can we look forward to with cars and trucks prices?!


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## Don M. (Jun 30, 2018)

fmdog44 said:


> Harley Davidson recently said the tariffs on metals will up the price of the bikes by $2,200 so they are relocating overseas for some parts. So what can we look forward to with cars and trucks prices?!



We can most certainly expect higher prices for vehicles....and dozens of other manufactured items....as a result of these tariffs.  Given that many of our "U.S." branded cars are actually manufactured in Mexico and Canada, these tariffs will drive those prices substantially higher.  The consumer can expect to see rising prices in the very near future for everything from cars to electronic goods.  There will be NO winners in this escalating "trade war".


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## Shalimar (Jun 30, 2018)

Very sad situation for all concerned.


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## OneEyedDiva (Jun 30, 2018)

Oh....we're gonna PAY for that brilliant idea!   I had seen that the price of Harleys would rise by $2,000. It's highly likely that other vehicles will cost considerably more as well.


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## Lara (Jun 30, 2018)

I heard that these trade tariffs are expected to be temporary.


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## Shalimar (Jun 30, 2018)

Lara said:


> I heard that these trade tariffs are expected to be temporary.


I hope so.


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## Knight (Jun 30, 2018)

Which do you prefer jobs and American made to sell or contiuned trade deficit? 


Archive for the 'Trade Deficit' Category
March 2018 Trade Gap is $49.0 Billion
Published May 3, 2018	BEA News , Trade Deficit , Trade in Goods and Services Leave a Comment 
The U.S. monthly international trade deficit decreased in March 2018 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit decreased from $57.7 billion in February (revised) to $49.0 billion in March, as exports increased and imports decreased. The previously published February deficit was $57.6 billion. The goods deficit decreased $7.5 billion in March to $69.5 billion. The services surplus increased $1.3 billion in March to $20.5 billion.
https://blog.bea.gov/category/trade-deficit/


Doesn't it seem a little odd that overnight the price of a Harley jumped that much? What no inventory? 


So do we want jobs & steel manufacturing here in America? Quite possible tarrifs will change the cost of things but then Made in America has pretty much been lost for the want of cheaper goods made elsewhere. 




In reality, production is down by more than one-third from its historical peak in 1973, and the employment picture -- while still severely shrunken -- is down to about one-fifth of its 1950s level, rather than one-tenth. We rate the claim False.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...-obama-wrong-about-size-us-steel-production-/


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## fmdog44 (Jul 1, 2018)

Knight said:


> Which do you prefer jobs and American made to sell or contiuned trade deficit?
> 
> 
> Archive for the 'Trade Deficit' Category
> ...



You read it wrong. The Harley  team predicted the increase in cost, not today's cost. Second, on inventory you ever hear of "just in time production"? You are fooling yourself on the trade deficit.


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## Lethe200 (Jul 6, 2018)

Don't confuse trade deficit with industrial production. The US produces a very healthy amount of industrial products, especially high-end specialized machines.

Here's an excellent article that talks about what a deficit is, and is not:

*What Is the Trade Deficit?*
It’s not a scorecard, and reducing it won’t necessarily be good for jobs.
NY Times The Upshot by Neil Irwin, June 9, 2018
Full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/09/upshot/what-is-the-trade-deficit.html



In this accounting, the $69 billion United States trade deficit with Mexico or $336 billion gap with China is something of a scorecard reflecting diminishing American greatness.

The vast majority of economists view it differently. In this mainstream view, trade deficits are not inherently good or bad. They can be either, depending on circumstances.

....Trying to eliminate the trade deficit could mean giving up some of the key levers of power that allow the United States to get its way in international politics. The reasons have to do with the global reserve currency, economic diplomacy and something called the Triffin dilemma.

....*Wouldn’t it be better if the U.S. didn’t run a deficit?*

It’s not clear that that’s even an option, because the dollar isn’t used just in trade between the United States and other countries.

The dollar is a global reserve currency, meaning that it is used around the world in transactions that have nothing to do with the United States. When a Malaysian company does business with a German company, in many cases it will do business in dollars; when wealthy people in Dubai or Singapore’s government investment fund want to sock away money, they do so in large part in dollar assets.

That creates upward pressure on the dollar for reasons unrelated to trade flows between the United States and its partners. That, in turn, makes the dollar stronger — and American exporters less competitive — than they would be in a world where nobody used the dollar for anything except commerce involving the United States.

The roughly $500 billion trade deficit that the United States runs each year isn’t just about poorly negotiated trade deals and currency manipulation by this or that country. It’s also, to some degree, a byproduct of the central role the United States plays in the global financial system.

.....*If having the global reserve currency means bleeding jobs overseas, why keep it?*

Be careful what you wish for.

There’s no doubt that maintaining the global reserve currency creates costs for the United States, namely a less competitive export industry.

But it also creates a lot of advantages. Lower interest rates and higher stock prices are among them (though they have the downside of also feeding debt-driven booms and busts). Even more important is what the dollar’s prominence in global finance does for America’s place in the world.

It helps ensure that the United States can afford to finance wars, and it gives the government greater ability to fight recessions and panics. A country experiencing a banking panic will see money sent out of the country, causing its currency to fall and its interest rates to rise. All that limits a government’s options for fixing the problem. In 2008, when the United States experienced a near collapse of the banking system, the opposite happened.

The centrality of the dollar to global finance gives the United States power on the global stage that no other country can match. It has enforced sanctions on Iran, Russia, North Korea and terrorist groups with the implicit threat of cutting off access to the dollar payments system for any bank in the world that does not cooperate with American foreign policy.

Part of what makes the United States powerful is the great importance of the dollar to global finance. And part of the price the United States pays for that status is a stronger currency and higher trade deficits than would be the case otherwise. "


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## KingsX (Jul 6, 2018)

Don M. said:


> We can most certainly expect higher prices for vehicles....and dozens of other manufactured items....as a result of these tariffs.




My current Honda was made in the USA [most of the parts were too.] 
I hope my next Honda is likewise made here...  otherwise I might buy
a different car that is.

.


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## KingsX (Jul 6, 2018)

Knight said:


> So do we want jobs & steel manufacturing here in America? Quite possible tarrifs will change the cost of things but then Made in America has pretty much been lost for the want of cheaper goods made elsewhere.




More and more "Americans" are no longer "made in the USA."

.


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## Camper6 (Jul 7, 2018)

Think about this.

When tariffs are imposed by one country on another.  For instance the U.S. putting tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum on goods coming from Canada.

At the border this tariff has to be collected by Customs at the border.

Question? Who pays and who gets the money collected?

When I worked I was an importer, and exporter for the firm I worked for.

This is going to be turmoil and stock markets and investors don't like turmoil.

This is all about the mid term elections.  

And where is Congress in all of this?  Who is running the country?  Fidel Castro?

And this is imposed on the claim of a security threat to the United States?  From Canada?  The Ned Flanders of the world?


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## Lethe200 (Jul 7, 2018)

>>And this is imposed on the claim of a security threat to the United States? From Canada?>>

The NY Times mentioned in an article a few weeks ago that the Commerce Dept. staff was frantically searching through papers to justify classifying auto mufflers from Canada as a "national security threat". LOL!

Anyway, back OT - tariffs should be thought of as a BAT - Border Added Tax.

It is a consumer tax. It falls most heavily on the poor, low income and middle-class. Revenues (assuming the economy stays strong) are intended to offset the deficit impact of lower corporate revenues.


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## Camper6 (Jul 7, 2018)

Knight said:


> Which do you prefer jobs and American made to sell or contiuned trade deficit?
> 
> 
> Archive for the 'Trade Deficit' Category
> ...



Continued trade deficit doesn't mean a country is losing money.

All it means is that you can afford to buy other countries product and pay for it.

It's never going to be exactly level going both ways no matter how hard you try.


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