Hello Nat, <<$29 DVD player at a Wal-Mart>> ...
Gee, let me guess the national origin of the DVD player ;0)
I can see how slapping a 27.5% tariff or a 200% punitive duty on the unit will not change a thing in direction of trade flows.
I have been visiting the Bay Area and have been wandering around in a rented US-assembled 5.0 Litre Mustang, accompanying a Venezuelan cousin to cruise the tourist sites, specialty shops (Sharper Image, etc), malls, Ikea, CompuUSA, Office Max, Home Depot, and of course, Toys R Us.
We were looking for computer goodies, comforters, quilts, kids toys, etc, and have also been rewarding ourselves with loads of wonderful seafood and so-so Chinese food.
Just about everything (except two things) we paid attention to at the shops were made in China.
The two exceptions was a Korean gizmo and a Thailand whizmo. I bought three Australian stuffed sheep skin teddy bears for about USD 60 each from an upmarket shop situated in an office complex, and yes, they were made in China. I can only imagine the aggregate margin of the collective layers of middlemen.
My Venezuelan cousin and I went through a two level city block-sized Ikea shop on his wife's remote control orders, and we did not come across any item for sale that was not from China. The experience was shocking.
Another shocker to any non-frequent visitor is the traffic. I think an energy crisis will be very bad news.
Chugs, Jay |
