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US Administration's Tariffs May Effect Electric Unicycles!


Jason McNeil

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Apologies for absence, there's a lot going on right now, not able to spend much time on the forum as I would like at the moment.

I've just received some rather alarming news from a Customs Broker, that the proposed 25% tariffs may also apply to Electric Unicycles. If this proposition is successful, overnight prices will be pretty much the same in the US as they are across Europe. 

Section 301 Proposed Tariffs Announced


The U.S. Trade Representative has just issued a press release announcing the proposed tariffs under Section 301. The proposed list covers 1,300 tariff lines at the 8-digit level. Companies will have an opportunity to provide input through a 30-day comment process, including a hearing.

The product list includes goods in the following headings:
  • 29 - chemicals
  • 30 - medicines
  • 40 - some rubber, tires & conveyor belts
  • 72 - iron / non alloy steel
  • 73 - alloy steel
  • 76 - aluminum
  • 84 - machinery and mechanical appliances, including machinery used in manufacturing textiles and apparel
  • 85 - electrical machinery, television image and sound recorders and reproducers
  • 86 - railway / tramway
  • 87 - motor vehicles
  • 88 - planes and helicopters
  • 89 - boats
  • 90 - glass and microscopes
  • 93 - guns
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I asked about this very same issue a little while ago...

After watching the honey episode of "Rotten" on Netflix, I think there's always going to be a way to skirt the system.  China ended up shipping their honey through a different non-tariff listed country to get around things.  Alternatively couldn't they ship components separately for assembly in the US?  Are they going to slap the tariff on electric motors?  Control boards?  Batteries?  Maybe they might end up dropping their wholesale price to dealers who would then end up assembling the wheels on US soil?

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2 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

I asked about this very same issue a little while ago...

After watching the honey episode of "Rotten" on Netflix, I think there's always going to be a way to skirt the system.  China ended up shipping their honey through a different non-tariff listed country to get around things.  Alternatively couldn't they ship components separately for assembly in the US?  Are they going to slap the tariff on electric motors?  Control boards?  Batteries?  Maybe they might end up dropping their wholesale price to dealers who would then end up assembling the wheels on US soil?

It would be harder though for the very small EUC manufacturers to orchestrate such a system, they are struggling with the current supply chain.  We'll have to wait and see, but as the price of the wheels move up, this could be a big downer on 2018//2019 models. It would be a big setback to the development of this very small industry.  

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4 minutes ago, Circuitmage said:

I looked through entire list and found motorized vehicle for transporting person with electric motor, so yeah....thanks Trump!

I will be cancelling my pre-order.

The proposed tariffs are not yet being implemented and will likely be revised in large measure.  So far it is just a threat exchange.

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Maybe it's time for me to rent some warehouse space and operate a forwarding / storage company to ship directly to the US!  :whistling:  Scratch off those pesky Made in China stamps, and there ya go!

I don't understand why a country would put a tariff on something that isn't produced locally?  Say if Canada can't grow watermelons 12 months of the year, why make them more expensive for Canadians to buy from other countries?  I'm no economicsologist, but it doesn't make sense to me unless the government wants to make more money and reduce trade from that country?  I can understand trying to protect local producers, but let's count how many US makers of electric unicycles currently exist...

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14 minutes ago, Pard said:

The proposed tariffs are not yet being implemented and will likely be revised in large measure.  So far it is just a threat exchange.

Right, currently it is just a possibility.  Jason said "If it is successful".  We just have to hope that these very special vehicles are not included.

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1 hour ago, US69 said:

Congrats for having such a great president,  i  can only say....

 

Now say it in Arabic

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55 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Maybe it's time for me to rent some warehouse space and operate a forwarding / storage company to ship directly to the US!  :whistling:  Scratch off those pesky Made in China stamps, and there ya go!

I don't understand why a country would put a tariff on something that isn't produced locally?  Say if Canada can't grow watermelons 12 months of the year, why make them more expensive for Canadians to buy from other countries?  I'm no economicsologist, but it doesn't make sense to me unless the government wants to make more money and reduce trade from that country?  I can understand trying to protect local producers, but let's count how many US makers of electric unicycles currently exist...

A Chinese looking kid was admiring my wheel today, and I told him they were made in China, and that everybody rides them there. I was saying it like he should be proud, and maybe he was.

There's a huge trade deficit between the US and China, and if this trade war resulted in more Americans getting jobs making EUCs and other products, it wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In theory yes, but it's difficult to produce a similar product locally due to the higher expense of the labor market.  Are US citizens willing to pay double for their made in the USA EUCs?  Would they sell on a global market competitively?  Standards of living and expenses are so much higher in North America than China that it's difficult to compete on the same level I think.

Maybe we'll see how @Austin Marhold's Pulse Glider wheel captures the US market if these tariffs actually are enforced.

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i’ve got my pre orders in, maybe y’all should too. ya, i watch the news. 

i voted for trump, and he’s doing great. much bigger more important things than these toys.

4 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

In theory yes, but it's difficult to produce a similar product locally due to the higher expense of the labor market.  Are US citizens willing to pay double for their made in the USA EUCs?  Staandards of living and expenses are so much higher in North America than China that it's difficult to compete on the same level I think.

Maybe we'll see how @Austin Marhold's Pulse Glider wheel captures the US market if these tariffs actually are enforced.

viet nam.

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If anybody is really worried, and you love your current wheel, you could buy a duplicate version of your current wheel from a US seller who already has one in stock.

Then you should be able to stay mobile on EUCs for years, using one of your wheels as a parts wheel for your other wheel if need be.

I thought about doing that myself even before the trade war.

 

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8 minutes ago, Scouts Honor said:

If anybody is really worried, and you love your current wheel, you could buy a duplicate version of your current wheel from a US seller who already has one in stock.

Then you should be able to stay mobile on EUCs for years, using one of your wheels as a parts wheel for your other wheel if need be.

I thought about doing that myself even before the trade war.

 

that’s my plan.

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31 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Are US citizens willing to pay double for their made in the USA EUCs? 

I would absolutely pay double for a wheel made in the USA. It would likely be better quality, and there would be legal recourse if things go wrong. 

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Any kind of global economic slowdown could also change EUC business models.

Right now there's an arms race with everybody coming out with $1700-2500 wheels. Reminds me of the 1990s economic bubble when everybody was buying luxury SUVs and that's all the car companies wanted to make.

If business strategy changed more towards value and cheap price, we could start seeing some great deals on some 800 watt wheels like the V8 or the KS14D/KS14s, and 1200 watt wheels like the KS16s.

Imagine a no-frills version of the V8 that sold for $700, or a no-frills KS14D for $500, etc etc.

Today's EUC market seems to be driven by speed addiction and the luxury market, not practicality or expanding the market to as many people as possible. 

If a trade war and/or economic recession changed business strategies to focus more on the entry level/mid level wheels, and focused on making good wheels affordable to as many people as possible, that could be a very good thing for the industry.

 

38 minutes ago, novazeus said:

that’s my plan.

What wheel are you going to double up on? I forget which wheel you like best.

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