President Trump expects to carry out his administration’s plans to raise the tariff level on many Chinese goods, including car audio amplifiers, from 10 percent to 25 percent in January, he told The Wall Street Journal.
Additionally, he is threatening to extend tariffs to the remaining $267 billion in Chinese imports not yet subject to duties including smartphones, laptops, car radios, speakers and other products.
The statements come as Trump is to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 Conference that begins on Friday.
Trump said it is “highly unlikely” he would delay the increase to a 25 percent tariff and if the Chinese do not agree to a deal, then he will consider extending tariffs to the remaining Chinese goods at a 10 or 25 percent level.
The President has issued tariff threats in the past to influence negotiations with foreign nations, said the Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government’s number one priority is to thwart the US Administration from carrying out the 25 percent increase on the $200 billion in goods as enacted in September. In fact, the Chinese have offered a proposal that would avoid the duty hike, said the WSJ report.
It is possible the two countries could agree to extend trade negotiations for several months, said the report.
In September, the Trump Administration imposed a 10 percent tariff on $200 million in Chinese goods with the intention of increasing the duty to 25 percent on January 1. The tariffs covered not only car audio amplifiers but also backup cameras and blind spot detectors.
Many car audio companies have raised prices as a result and many are waiting until mid-December to determine pricing for 2019, they said.
See the full Wall Street Journal story here (subscription may be required).
In reference to the comment about “companies start building in the USA”. What should we do for companies like JL Audio that does in fact build a majority of their products in the US, but still have to purchase the components from China as we don’t have these products being manufactured in the US? I don’t feel Trump and our government completely thought this tariff thing out. Listen, I am all for U.S.A. built and bringing more manufacturing back to the US. It can’t happen overnight though.
Well Companies start building in USA. Lol
These tariffs will have a profound impact on many segments of the American economy. The car audio industry will see major impact. Higher prices, moving more manufacturing offshore, layoffs, and possible product shortages all loom. And the tariffs outside of the car audio industry will impact all of us as well. Let’s hope that sanity makes a comeback.