Trump's tariffs trip up the all-American RV industry

[kevindavis007]

ELKHART, Ind. (Reuters) - Carrie Gray points to a stack of unwelcome mail on a conference table at the offices of Renegade RV, one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of high-end recreational vehicles. She’s buried in bad news from most of her about 350 suppliers.


“We got letters from 75 percent of them demanding tariff-related price increases,” explains Gray, Renegade’s materials manager.


About 85% of the recreational vehicles sold in the United States are built in and around Elkhart County, making it a popular stop for politicians to tout their visions for U.S. manufacturing – including President Donald Trump, who staged a rally here last May.


And yet this uniquely American manufacturing sector has been caught in the crossfire of Trump’s trade war, according to interviews with industry insiders and economists, along with data showing a steep sales decline amid rising costs and consumer prices. The industry has taken hits from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum and other duties on scores of Chinese-made RV parts, from plumbing fixtures to electronic components to vinyl seat covers.


Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-rvs/trumps-tariffs-trip-up-the-all-american-rv-industry-idUSKCN1UD18L


Not winning..

[IsailedawayfromFR]

An 'All-American' industry is not one that depends upon foreign imports.

Try again.

[kevindavis007]

An 'All-American' industry is not one that depends upon foreign imports.

Try again.

So basically you want the Government to force companies to buy more expensive american made products, raising the price, and people won't be able to buy it. How is that logical?

[Bill Cipher]

An 'All-American' industry is not one that depends upon foreign imports.

Try again.

Nonsense. 

[thackney]

So basically you want the Government to force companies to buy more expensive american made products, that don't exist, raising the price, and people won't be able to buy it. How is that logical?

[Absalom]

In an ideal world, Free Trade is the most equitable economic system for all.
However we do not live in an ideal world as the Chinese have suppressed
creativity, whose drivers are imagination and vision, as they perceive these traits to be
a threat to the autocratic mind-set which has governed them since the Shang of 1500 BC.
As a consequence, they cheat, they lie and they steal.
Tariffs, warts and all, are the prescribed medicine to change their behavior. So we shall see.
And if the crony capitalist gang has lighter wallets; how sad and so what!!!

[Fishrrman]

"Free trade"...
... never really existed. (great catchword phrase that it was)

Let's bury it, and be done with it.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

"Free trade"...
... never really existed. (great catchword phrase that it was)

Let's bury it, and be done with it.

Free trade is the natural state of man.  It has always existed, and it always will.

But then people in government realized they could enrich themselves via tariffs, especially if they lied about "the other side" cheating.

The only person who ever benefited from a tariff was a politician.     

[IsailedawayfromFR]

So basically you want the Government to force companies to buy more expensive american made products, raising the price, and people won't be able to buy it. How is that logical?

Nope, I want an All American company to actually be an All American company.

What do you believe it means to say that?

[Wingnut]

I don't believe this (the Tarrifs) are the reason for sales decline, but more like an excuse. 
RV sales have slipped for the last two years after 10 years of growth.  Industry experts say this is more likely a "Growth Hangover"

https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/06/15/winnebago-earnings-what-to-watch.aspx

[Absalom]

"Free trade"...
... never really existed. (great catchword phrase that it was)
Let's bury it, and be done with it.

----------------------------------
Actually, it did exist in the early 18th century, promoted by Great Britain, as a
counter to Mercantilism and was the theme of Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations."
But over time dishonesty, envy, and greed overwhelmed this ideal, resulting in
our present free for all, where trading parties only interest is in fattening their
wallets while ignoring any principle of fairness.

[truth_seeker]

----------------------------------
Actually, it did exist in the early 18th century, promoted by Great Britain, as a
counter to Mercantilism and was the theme of Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations."
But over time dishonesty, envy, and greed overwhelmed this ideal, resulting in
our present free for all, where trading parties only interest is in fattening their
wallets while ignoring any principle of fairness.

"he Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith described it this way:

“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”

Nothing about fairness.

[Absalom]

"he Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith described it this way:
“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”
Nothing about fairness.

----------------------------------
From the Fertile Crescent, around 9000 BC, till the 18th century Enlightenment
Mankind despite his warts, exhibited a powerful spiritual sense as exemplified by
the Art he produced.
The Enlightenment, which ushered in Capitalism alongside, changed that dynamic 
forever as betterment and its materialism, became and remains the focus
of culture/society. As such, agree that self-interest is a major component
Nevertheless in the long run principle will always best narrow self-interest.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Nonsense.

Ok, what do you believe an 'All-American company' means?

That it makes American products with parts of origin from America?

@Bill Cipher

[jmyrlefuller]

So basically you want the Government to force companies to buy more expensive american made products, raising the price, and people won't be able to buy it. How is that logical?

Because we're a sovereign nation, Kevin. We have borders.

"Free trade" is the economic equivalent of leaving a border open and undefended. We don't allow it for immigration, and it's just as ruinous for trade—one would be a fool to allow hostile powers (such as the still extant Communist state that still runs China) to exploit such a weakness.