China & Tariffs

I'm looking forward to US-made entry level knives, I think it could definitely be a change for the better.

To be honest, I don't see Spyderco's Chinese made budget knives as particularly competitive with their current prices. There have been a lot of new budget knives that are similarly priced but offer better quality and materials.
 
This personally won’t affect my life unless Taiwanese made knives are included in the increase. I own a bunch of Byrds and a couple of Chinese Spydercos that don’t get a hell of a lot of use. I like these knives, but have no interest in adding more Chinese Spyderco (or any other brand) to my collection.

Entry level American made knives would be great, but how much less could they be than the current lineup of knives like Endura, Delica, dragonfly, etc.? I think those knives are well priced currently and I own a bunch.

Also, as all manufacturers will be affected and this isn’t just a Spyderco issue, all Chinese knives will likely go up in a similar fashion. Would the Wally World buyer looking at a $39.95 Tenacious, Ontario Rat, etc. pass on buying the same knife at $44.95? I doubt it.

I don’t think it will be a big deal in any case.
 
Don W said:
Tariffs do not level any imaginary playing field. They only hurt the manufacturer and end users wallet. Free trade is the answer. Free trade has always been the answer.
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Great, then you should be able to convince the Chinese government to lower their tariffs as low as ours have been, then we can all be happy.
 
Someone1 said:
So you like the chinese government subsidizing the companies that dump products into America at a loss in order to put American companies out of business?
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As said before, This is a ridiculous assumption.
Because I firmly believe in free trade does not mean, or imply, or equal that I like anything the Chinese government does. For you to assume that is ridiculous. That's all I was saying.
and please dont waste your typed breaths on trying to convince me that free trade is not the answer. I know you are wrong and am not looking to learn new lessons.
 
Don W said:
It is not my job and no matter what we cannot all be happy.
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The appropriate action has finally been done to possibly cause such a change. Until then we will have to pay more for certain goods. Thats great though because now we can get more American made knives and still reasonably priced Chinese knives.
 
Danno44 said:
No it’s not. Exactly right. It’s not a “free market” when the government subsidies manufacturers, artificially control they money value/exchanges etc and etc.
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I agree with you, but you must know that the American government/taxpayer subsidizes "big agriculture" and many other industries, right? Look at what is happening in the news with GM. It isn't just China.

Everyone wants what is best for their country, even if that includes "unfair advantages". We should just get used to paying closer to what things are actually worth, including our luxury knives.
 
Protective tariffs are contrary to free trade and will do nothing for those businesses whose costs of goods and prices increase while their sales decrease, as people buy fewer goods leading to a recessionary economic cycle that will be no good for anybody.

This has already been predicted and is the primary reason most business people and economists advised against the recent tariffs imposed by "our" government on Chinese and other goods, which of course has lead to the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by those countries so affected.
 
sgt1372 said:
Protective tariffs are contrary to free trade and will do nothing for those businesses whose costs of goods and prices increase while their sales decrease, as people buy fewer goods leading to a recessionary economic cycle that will be no good for anybody.

This has already been predicted and is the primary reason most business people and economists advised against the recent tariffs imposed by "our" government on Chinese and other goods, which of course has lead to the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by those countries so affected.
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Yes, let's destroy our own country to help China.
 
Someone1 said:
Trade without rules leads to monopoly and predatory practices. I'm an advocate of a lot of libertarian ideas but there are a lot of libertarian ideas that only work when everyone is good and moral. Unrestricted and totally free trade is one of those things. These tariffs are meant to put a stop to predatory practices of China and other countries. I support them. If China and the companies in China weren't predatory to their own people and the world, really, then I'd say the tariffs are overkill.

Honestly i believe we should go back to funding the federal government totally on tariffs and corporate taxes and remove any income taxes for individuals. Or at least a low, maybe 3%, flat tax for individuals, capped by a constitutional amendment. In order to do that all products crossing the US border would need to have tariffs levied on them.
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Agree with you on many points but disagree on a few. Either way, it is good to see someone who remembers a bit of US history.
I agree, income taxes are a horrible way to fund the government because they penalize work, prioritize corporate entities over people, encourage debt, and ignore the cash economy leaving illegal/illicit income essentially untaxed. I think a combination of a small but broad ranging tariff on all imports, combined with a national GST/VAT that decreases with higher domestic content, would be more fair.
 
sgt1372 said:
A tariff war will not help either country; just hurt both.

US farmers are already suffering greatly from the tariffs imposed by China on various products such as soybeans and WE are paying $12 BILLION in subsidies to OUR farmers as a result. See: https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/404338-trump-subsidies-are-a-band-aid-for-farmers-not-a-solution

How is this good for America?
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arent we always paying subsidies to all farmers all the time anyways?

notice the article you linked says right in it....opinion............cause it is, not fact. that's the problem with most of not all political flag wavers. they all think they are chatting and screaming facts when most is only opinions. that aside not saying I disagree with it cause I didnt read it and politics isnt what we should be talking about anyways. what I am saying is we are subsidizing farming and always have. nothing new here only than how much more than normal.......
 
How many other cheap US made steels could be used for knives made here?

I would actually LOVE a Tenacious made in 1095!
 
Remove China, and put Canada, or the EU, or Russia, or Australia into any of those arguments and they all play out the same. Each country has choices it has to make based on its economic realities and its basic operation principals. And I would put money that there are more trade restrictions and tariffs between Canada and the US than China and the US.
Paying farmers to ensure that more smaller farmers stay operational is overall a good thing. Money spent inside a country by a government creates economic action which is probably a good thing in most cases. The fact that international economics is as complex as predicting the weather (rather more so since weather prediction is a component) and since we at the "ground" level ever really have the true details of whats going on kinda makes the argument pointless. Its like trying to predict the value of a pound of lead six months from now based on the nesting of a pair of birds in the eve of your house. There are people who's job it is, and when they are highly knowledgeable, and only just beat chance on a good day, what makes anyone here think they "know" what effect any policy will have a year from now? Feel free to argue, but don't plan on getting anywhere.
 
Boxer .45 said:
... Until then we will have to pay more for certain goods...
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It's worth noting we can also choose to NOT BUY the goods because of the added costs...

That will bring additional free trade pressures to bear on the issue. Voting with your wallet is not subject to hacking, recounts, lost ballots, or hanging chad ...it's arguably the most pure and effective way to let your voice be heard.

I'm a simple man and I just basically have a hard time understanding how we can even conduct business with nations who have such a different political and economic philosophy from ours. Can we even EFFECTIVELY speak in terms of free trade when we're competing with/against state sponsored firms or quasi-private firms who benefit from that structure in their nation?

To keep the topic <somewhat> on point, recall we're talking pocket knives-- not oxygen, food, water, healthcare, utilities, or housing. So regardless of the underlying socio-economic-political nuances...one thing I am very sure of... if enough of us stop spending our discretionary funds-- that will force a change.

We're still one of the largest, if not THE largest, nation of consumers on the planet and that's WORTH ;) a lot!
 
I have a Tenacious and I think it is one of the best made knives of that type. However I prefer to buy knives that are made in America and I do pay a lot more for them.
 
Sounds like even more incentive to just make knives in the US.

My personal thoughts are that I won’t buy a knife made outside of the US. I appreciate when countries support American workers. I’d rather pay more for a US made knife. Even if it’s significantly more.
 
Sal Glesser said:
As many of you know (or should now) that there are tariffs being created for many products made in China, as well as other countries. You also know that we make a number of products in China, including knives and sharpening parts. We're already experiencing these tariffs on some of the steels we import. Eventually we are going to be hit with up to 25% in tariffs for our Chinese made models. Naturally we will have to pass on those costs. I would like to know your thoughts on this?

sal
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  • The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress framed by Representative William McKinley that became law on October 1, 1890. ...
  • Knife makers lobbied for this law in the 19th century and it turned around the American knife industry at the time and even brought skilled workers in from England and Germany.
 
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