Before we launch into the respective positions of China and the USA, lets explore definitions: What’s a tariff? A tax on merchandise imported from other countries. A bargaining chip to negotiate a better trade deal Both of them are true, but note that a tax can be in place...
So, now that we have imagined a plausible end, it would be appropriate to understand more about the beginning. What started this trade dispute? Three main issues: A growing trade deficit: China sells a lot more goods to the USA than the USA sells to China. The trade deficit with...
Armageddon: “the prophesied location of a gathering of armies for a battle during the end times… The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end of the world scenario” - Wikipedia If you let your imagination run wild, and you try to picture where this trade conflict could...
In January I made a prediction on what would happen in March, namely: “… it will get better, … the new 25% tariffs will not be imposed and … previous tariffs will be reduced over time.” Time for me to eat humble pie. Here we are in June, and after...
In the last blog installment we published of this series, Made In China Quality and Perception: Improving Standards and Improving Quality – Part 4, discussed the recovery China made after dealing with major quality scandals and recalls between 2007 and 2008. This week, we continue the series and will examine...
Price is not everything when sourcing from China, but it still is the most important reason why importers source from there. Importers come to us for a number of reasons, but the three most common requests are: Quality assurance, finding suppliers, and securing optimal pricing. Every importer is concerned with...
The impending tariffs and the trade war with China have been an ongoing and popular topic in the press, and an especially important issue in our business. One of the benefits of this kind of activity is that importers are focused on reducing COGS (Cost of goods sold). A recent...
China has gone through some major economic changes in the last 2 decades. Some of which probably affected how you buy and what you buy in China. In a recent article from Stansberry Pacific Research’s Asia Wealth Investment Daily, we found a great review of some of these changes. Worth...