So Chinese media has come out and said Trump would be naive to impose the 45% tariffs on products from China that was mentioned during the campaign. Going on to say:
“A batch of Boeing orders will be replaced by Airbus. US auto and iPhone sales in China will suffer a setback, and US soybean and maize imports will be halted. China can also limit the number of Chinese students studying in the US.”
Now when it comes to trade I really don't know much but there are some here who may...so I have some questions. Serious, honest questions.
For example, when it comes to things like Apple product sales, what is the worst that can happen? We know that Apple products are 'designed in California' but made in China. So obviously Apple profits would take a hit. But how much focus should Trump have on Apple profits? After all it appears the entire spectrum, all the way to the political left, has issue with potential tax avoidance from companies like Apple. And it's not like anyone at the Apple HQ were large Trump supporters. So what's the possible damage?
A study from MIT claims that the cost of producing an iPhone is around $4 to $10 in China. That's on a product that is sold for almost $900. The same study claims that if assembly was done in the US the cost would only rise by $30 or $40. Claiming that:
That’s partly because labor costs are higher in the U.S., but mostly it’s because additional transportation and logistics expenses would arise from shipping parts, and not just the finished product, to the U.S. This means that assuming all other costs stayed the same, the final price of an iPhone 6s Plus might rise by about 5 percent.
Even if Apple decides to keep production in China at an increased cost, why would this prevent Trump from pulling the trigger on this? Apple posts $30B + per year in net revenue and it's claimed they avoid paying about $3.75B in taxes per year.
As for orders being switched from Boeing to Airbus...OK. This is the same Airbus that has nation's walking away from contracts due to extensive delays. Will China pay more to skip several orders already in line in order to keep on track with their growth needs? What about the airlines and nations that are skipped? Can they be convinced to switch their orders to Boeing?
On students studying in the US...OK. Where are they going to go?
But what I find interesting about the idea of tariffs is what is going on in Vancouver right now. They just passed a $10,000 per year tax on unoccupied homes in the city. The reason is they have had a massive amount of Chinese nationals purchasing homes in Vancouver as a way to shelter their money from the China economy. Of course when they passed this there was not nearly the rhetoric from China on this. Why? Well I can only assume that China knows their residents don't have many other options.