I guess free trade ain't free, after all.
I guess free trade ain't free, after all.
This is about slowing the loss of non service US jobs, the kind we have been losing out on for years. In this case, beef sales to the EU. Here the EU has banned US beef and the US took it to the WTO and won its case in 1997. Since then it has been tied up in appeals.
The best answer for me is to label the beef and let the EU folks decide whether to buy it or not. Instead, it's banned.
The US exports are anemic compared to imports. Ag products is one of the few we do extremely well exporting. We need to keep as much of that as we can but perhaps a better way would be to stop using the bovine hormones but I am not a cattle expert despite having cattle much of my life.
The 50 to 500cc class is where I am seeing a lot of new rides I like. But I can't imagine more than a $100 buck tariff on them and doubling it to $200 is not that much. Does anyone know the current tariff structure on small bikes?
Long term I think both political parties are going to address this problem of America morphing into a service only job sector. They have to given the last election. All nations are in debt up to and way beyond anything in history. They are fighting for every scrap. It's going to get ugly.
Mr. Twitter Fingers had a very busy weekend, in amongst the 140 character missives was one aimed at BMW & Mercedes, threatening a 35% tariff for non-US manufactured vehicles.
I'd imagine that their US dealer employees are as similarly unnerved as the powersports industry.
Most, if not all, of the European big automakers have factories in the US. BMWs are made in the Carolinas. I know the Japanese car companies manufacture almost all of their US cars inside the US.
No. Two reasons, one is the tariff is what's going double not the entire bike. Second, only bikes under 500cc are subject to the new tariff.
You're right that the GS won't double in price due to displacement, but I'm not sure that it is only the tariff that doubles. The public notice states, "Pursuant to that authorization, USTR announced a list of EU products that would be subject to a 100 percent rate of duty." The current request is to reinstate that 1999 100% duty on select products. It seems like a Husky or KTM 450 would be close to double current dealer cost. If true, it would cripple a single line dealer, like a KTM dealer, who sells mostly off-road vehicles.
Good news is that it is not a foregone conclusion that motorcycles are included. They will be gathering a total of $116.8 million in annual impact from the products on the list. The USTR specifically stated it is "particularly interested in comments addressed to the possible effects of reinstatement on U.S. consumers and small- or medium-sized businesses." Dealers of these Euro models should fit that audience for whom the USTR has expressed specific concern and they can make their case with thoughtful commentary.