"Tarrifs will only hurt consumers and not help the economy." disagree. We will be fine. |
| Where is all your toothpaste made? |
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Lightbulbs. Only noticed because we recently switched our incandescent bulbs over and have a million new bulbs that we’ve been installing as the old ones burnt out.
It’s actually been really tough to find old or new style bulbs, so I imagine the financial incentives for factories to manufacture light bulbs already aren’t great. |
| Most furnaces and air conditioning units |
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I worked for a company that moved production work from PA to Mexico many years ago. I was shocked how quickly they were able to disassemble the production equipment, haul it to Mexico and then reassemble it - maybe 3 weeks.
Whatever is made there - except agriculture- can be made elsewhere. |
| I also agree Americans will be fine. Companies can try to pass on the increased costs due to tariffs but consumers can just stop buying those items or find another cheaper producer. There is no shortage of poor people in the world who will make things for less than the current producers. |
Tariffs are taxes imposed on imports. This raises costs for importers ( Home Depot, Best Buy, anyone who sells berries), so they will pass those on in the form of higher prices. Producers who move production to other third countries are just signing up for whatever tariffs the US imposes on those countries. The goal is to move production back to the US, but the prices will stay high, as costs to produce here are higher. US factories are heavily automated as a result, so don't look for a lot of job creation. |
Labor will be more expensive in the US. I’m guessing your company moved production to Mexico for cheaper labor. |
| I wonder if I should be stocking up on bell peppers, avocados, coffee, chocolate, or just roll with it and do without until 2029 |
| Nothing. |
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A lot of food is also made in Mexico now — Oreos have all been made in Mexico for years now, a lot of Hershey’s products, etc., as well as nearly all home appliances (or parts of them). Tariffs won’t bring much of the work back because it only makes sense to bring the work back if:
Cost of Mexican labor plus tariffs plus transportation cost from Mexico plus cost of any inefficiencies due to less educated Mexican workforce > cost of US workforce For most products, that just won’t be true. But it will raise prices or result in more shrinkflation. |
Check your tube of toothpaste! |
| The lack of brand name/product names here on this thread is disappointing. Just saying "cars" is not helpful. I was hoping for more surprising daily products like toothpaste that are made in mexico that you don't realize is made in mexico. |
I buy cooking beans from Rancho Gordo. Especially from their project where Mexican farmers grow the heirloom varieties. They earn a fair wage and save the traditional plants from being lost to monoculture. |
Any car with a VIN that begins with a 3 was made in Mexico. |