37.5% duty charged on Ascilab speakers shipped to US [Resolved]

[chelgrian]

Consumption taxes (Tarriffs) always move the tax bill to the less fortunate. Rich people simply stop buying products or have their company find a way to get what they want without fees. Those that think the price of avocado's going up 50% last month or tomatoes and other vegetables increasing in cost due to immigration pressures isn't inflationary - are blind.

Insurance costs on homes have risen 150% in the last few years with a 35% increase this last year. It's getting to the point where the wealthy self insure and the poor have no choice but pay up. Rapid inflationary pressures are hitting every sector as a result of the Tarriff and immigration enforcement one, two punch.

I will simply put a pause on audio gear purchases until this mess is over. I guarantee you it can't last. People will be very angry and upset soon. First it will hit insurance and groceries. Electric and water bills are moving much higher too. Next, health insurance bills will rise by 30% and new auto's will be out of reach for most. It's going to be the biggest inflationary spiral of our lifetimes. Significantly higher rising prices will be imbedded in basic living expenses. It won't be possible to avoid increased costs even if you drastically reduce luxury purchases.

Sadly it can last, there are many examples of countries with long term bad leadership, that it is impossible to remove, and economies in the toilet.

 

[valerianf]

When I was young, long time ago, lucky tourists from Europe were going to the US with empty luggages, because it was cheap to bring back Levis Strauss jeans and electronics. Taxes were very high in Europe and low in the US.
We had a clear envy and jealousy about the US way of life.
Nowadays it is the other way round.
What continent is really collapsing?

 

[Snoopy]

This is awful, it's going to kill the company.

Yeah because the US is the one and only place where people buy loudspeakers. The whole world should be concerned about the tariffs imposed on US Customers..

 

[Sokel]

Well, they're still good, right? Where the parts come from shouldn't have any effect there.

They sure are, they have some MIT DNA in them after all.

It's my own thing to prefer that the one who crafts the gear should know what is actually building.
Pretty difficult this times (specially cost) but perfectly doable.

I see people writing about caps and stuff for the crossovers. Most of them are European if you look, the nice ones at least.
Drivers too, lots coming straight from Europe and made here, upper tier ones mostly.

And when cost starts being comparable because of taxes, tariffs and BS things can shift.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Ascend Acoustics -CA

Assembled in the USA from global components (drivers, cabinets). I suspect many others on that list are the same.

eg Tyler Acoustics builds their cabinets locally, but I doubt the drivers are sourced locally.

GR Research drivers are not USA made.

 

[1066]

I think the body language of the receiver of the question speaks for itself.

 

[PristineSound]

Assembled in the USA from global components (drivers, cabinets). I suspect many others on that list are the same.

eg Tyler Acoustics builds their cabinets locally, but I doubt the drivers are sourced locally.

GR Research drivers are not USA made.

You are of course right.

In today's connected economy and supply chain, it is near physical impossibility to have any non simple products (such as audio, electronics, cars, appliances, etc.) with all it's parts and raw materials to be sourced and made in one country.

I am at a complete lost as to why some grown adult here don't know this basic, common knowledge. This is not the first time a grown adult made this comment on ASR. Do they not read the news? Do they live in a little, fairytale, isolated, medieval village? Even my 11 year old son knows this without anyone having to tell him.

Such ignorance is no different than believing in cables.

 

[Somafunk]

Yup, life's not fair. Never has been, never will be. In terms of economic nuances look around the room you're in. You have possessions that people a hundred years ago could have only dreamed of. In fact, you live a life of luxury compared to a large percentage of people on the planet. In the US a typical "poor" family, about 10% of the population, has a car, air conditioning, a couple of TVs, stove, microwave and a fridge according to the US census bureau. That's a pretty good life compared to a lot of people

That is not a valid argument nor excuse in favour of tariffs, rather than I type out a long response perhaps you could take less than one minute out of your day to read the following link regarding the effect on non-discretionary spending by lower income households.

Lower-income states and metros face the greatest burden from impending tariffs

Tariffs act as a regressive tax on households as they are applied to imported goods, many of which fall into the category of non-discretionary spending on such things as clothing, food, and energy—necessities most households cannot go without.

www.oxfordeconomics.com

 

[Somafunk]

I think the body language of the receiver of the question speaks for itself.

Amir posted that video on his tariff thread, it would be so amusing if it wasn’t so tragic

 

[Davey]

^^^ “ this is why we can’t have nice things”

(that point seems somewhat akin to the politicians who decried the price of eggs under one president, and when they stayed high under another president switched to
“ well have you thought of owning some chickens?”

Well, that's a wonderful reading between the lines, and just a silly analogy.
It's not what I said nor meant.

Let me say it so a twelve year old can understand. If the tariff/cost situation is not understood on a prospective purchase from overseas, just don't purchase the product.

 

[caught gesture]

Well, that's a wonderful reading between the lines, and just a silly analogy.
It's not what I said nor meant.

Let me say it so a twelve year old can understand. If the tariff/cost situation is not understood on a prospective purchase from overseas, just don't purchase the product.

But…imported materials and components of products “Made in America” will also get a price hike therefore increasing production costs. Either the end purchaser will pay more or the US company will have to reduce their profit margin to cover the extra expense.

 

[Audionaut]

Let me say it so a twelve year old can understand. If the tariff/cost situation is not understood on a prospective purchase from overseas, just don't purchase the product

This may work at the level of individual consumer goods, but it does not work for capital goods at the macroeconomic level.
Not in either direction, by the way.

Irrespective of this, and not in response to you specifically, I consider customs duties in their current form to be a relic from previous centuries, the revival of which is reminiscent of old scary movies.

 

[pablolie]

This is true, because FedEx (or UPS?) recently reported a massive operating loss due to unpaid tariff bills, because it's possible to default on them with few to no consequences

I thought they'd keep the stuff in customs until the tax is paid. This seems weird to me, because if you send me a bill *after* I already paid the original bill, I might as well go "nice try, sue me".

 

[Davey]

But…imported components and parts of products “Made in America” will also get a price hike therefore increasing production costs. Either the end purchaser will pay more or the US company will have to reduce their profit margin to cover the extra expense.

The same advice would apply for non-overseas purchases.
Maybe I need to make it even simpler. If you're purchasing something and you don't know what it costs, maybe you shouldn't purchase it?

 

[Davey]

This may work at the level of individual consumer goods, but it does not work for capital goods at the macroeconomic level.
Not in either direction, by the way.

Irrespective of this, and not in response to you specifically, I consider customs duties in their current form to be a relic from previous centuries, the revival of which is reminiscent of old scary movies.

I don't disagree with you on the "relic" that tariffs are. But, in this particular case, we ARE talking about individual consumer goods and not macroeconomics.

 

[Somafunk]

Let me say it so a twelve year old can understand. If the tariff/cost situation is not understood on a prospective purchase from overseas, just don't purchase the product.

How would that work with the $230+ Billion of pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. last year?

 

[Davey]

How would that work with the $230+ Billion of pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. last year?

That is a straw man. We're talking about a simple set of box speakers here.
Good golly.

 

[caught gesture]

I don't disagree with you on the "relic" that tariffs are. But, in this particular case, we ARE talking about individual consumer goods and not macroeconomics.

Consumer expenditures account for approximately two-thirds of US economic activity.

 

[Davey]

Consumer expenditures account for approximately two-thirds of US economic activity.

So what.
It doesn't change the calculation that a guy like you or me would make if interested in purchasing a set of speakers from Korea for $1500.
This situation doesn't need to be rationalized.

 

[audio_tony]

He actually buys a lot of his parts from India which currently has some of the highest tariffs there is (likely a tie with China). Most of his bargain speakers are with parts from India.

And it could be about to get worse...

Trump tariffs: India has 20 days to avoid 50% levies - what are its options?

Experts say the US's sweeping tariffs will slow down the Indian economy if Delhi fails to secure a deal.

www.bbc.co.uk