Trump's new tariff proposals include a 25% tax on video game consoles

[Bofferbrauer2]

sethnintendo said:
Just want another country to start building durable goods again. These days most shit from China is cheap and shitty. Sure there are some reliable products but go back 3 or 4 decades they built shit to last. Now we are in a throw away economy. Something breaks go buy another because prob cost just as much fixing than to replace. I'll take Japan they usually make good shit. They can make good cars but apparently not airbags!

Problem is, that the incentives for that are made from us, not China.

Customers in general rather buy cheap products than long-lasting ones. Which pushed the producers to keep things running just as long as they need to, aka as long as it's under some kind of warranty.

So, either the whole population shifts its consumerism to long-lasting products, or there need to be legal changes in the length of warranties to make that happen.

cycycychris said:
Better add at least $100 onto the price of all consoles now. Right in time for the next gen too. I actually wouldn't be surprised if this makes the console makers looking into assembling the consoles in the US. Don't know if that would knock enough off the price to make it work the effort though. But if this tariff is something that they think will stay in place for a while its an option. Overall more bullshit from Trump.

The importing costs get eaten up by wages, so doubtful that they'll do so. Also, new factories would need to get build, which takes a while and is expensive.

However, there's a possibility that the final assembly moves to another third world or developing country, like India, Indonesia, Philippines... to get around the tax. And if it's just the final assembly, China wouldn't loose much of it.

Last edited by Bofferbrauer2 - on 25 May 2019