Are you buying now because you anticipate higher prices?

[Karmacoma]

I grew up in both Europe (Austria [born in Salzburg], Germany, mostly) and the deep South of the USA (concieved in Charleston, South Carolina, USA). We always had a variety of things in our refrigerator.
Heinz is NOT my favorite Ketchup (despite my last name being Heins).
There are several brands from both the USA & other countries that I prefer.
My issue with ketchup is High Fruticose Corn syrups (real sugar OK) but ketchups that are too sweet in general.
And ones that are not savory. Preferably some herbs & spices but not hot like a Chili Pepper.

Heinz ketchup recipe is not the same in Europe and USA, and there could be also some differences between countries in EU but that I'm not sure.

 

[Titurel]

I’m a Canadian and I used to buy gear from the USA and have them sent to one of those cross porter pick up services, where I would cross the border and pick it up in the USA and bring it back home.

Now I would not only consider the higher price of the gear due to the tariffs, but the wisdom of even crossing the border, given all the shenanigans going on there.

Shenanigans? I'm not clear on what qualifies a shenanigans anymore. Geriatric demonstrators? Molotov cocktails? River Dance?

 

[MattHooper]

Shenanigans? I'm not clear on what qualifies a shenanigans anymore. Geriatric demonstrators? Molotov cocktails? River Dance?

?

You do have a flare for the opaque

 

[EJ3]

Heinz ketchup recipe is not the same in Europe and USA, and there could be also some differences between countries in EU but that I'm not sure.

Well, I only know the USA one & find it sweet and bland.
There are others, USA, European, S. American that I like better.
Maybe I would like the European Heinz ketchup better, I do not know.
If I run into it somewhere, I'll certainly try it.

 

[levimax]

Well, I only know the USA one & find it sweet and bland.
There are others, USA, European, S. American that I like better.
Maybe I would like the European Heinz ketchup better, I do not know.
If I run into it somewhere, I'll certainly try it.

I have spent time with expatriots in several countries and without exception they had their favorite condiments shipped "from home".

 

[MattHooper]

I just spotted some MBL 101 speakers for sale on the secondhand marketplace, being sold from the USA. They are $35,000.

So if you’re in the USA, you would be paying that plus shipping I guess.

But as a Canadian, I had ChatGPT estimate the price after currency conversion, our GST, and the new 25% tariffs CANADA has slept on electronics and the price comes out to…

About $68,000 CAD!

Cripes!

Even though I won’t be buying those anytime soon, if I were still in the secondhand market this stuff would be a game changer in terms of what I could afford versus the past.

 

[EJ3]

I have spent time with expatriots in several countries and without exception they had their favorite condiments shipped "from home".

I spent from 2001-2018 roaming the world (Mostly places that touched the Indian Ocean, Western Pacific [N & S])& the Philippine Sea, making 14 trips through the Panama Canal. I mostly have traveled by ship.
I do not know anyone who went that far to get their condiments (now, in Japan, S. Korea & some other places there where US Bases, so...)
In South Korea, I (as I had access) got Italian Sausage from a US Base (as [other than local] as I could only find German sausage and meats) in where I was at in S. Korea).
I just ate local & local home cooking (or on the ships I traveled on).
Even in Chongqing China, just local food.
I will say that I did not like Korean food in the big cities (and will not go to a Korean restaurant today). In the country, at someone's home: great.
Allergies to seafood is a problem for me. But I managed.
Japanese food I can also do without.
Singapore, Thai & Chinese are favorites. From my travels in Europe (during 1963-1999), German, Austrian & Italian food stick out as great.
In all my travels, sometimes I just craved a can of Chef-Boyardee (Ettore Boiardi (October 22, 1897 – June 21, 1985), also known as Hector Boyardee, was an Italian-American chef, famous for his eponymous brand of food products, named Chef Boyardee) Beefaroni (but I always stocked up before I left the USA).
In some places there are now "Asian Fusion Restaurants". My wife is Asian: we have not run into one such restaurant that either of us likes. Not in San Diego, Charleston, SC, Guam or anywhere else that we travel to these days.
Maybe because I did not stay in one place longer than a month or three, I did not run into this.
Also, I mostly associated with locals as opposed to expats.

 

[Titurel]

?

You do have a flare for the opaque

What can I say? It's a gift.

 

[valerianf]

Since Trump first presidency I am buying all the electronics that I can purchase: I am guessing that very soon Taiwan will be at war.
The only product I did not bought is Tv and car.
Last purchase is a Onkyo TX RZ30.
As the Trump extra tax are popping up I think that I will keep this AVR because of it's current pricing.

 

[bigguyca]

One way to anticipate price increases in a country is to watch the level of tariffs on a product in the U.S. As an example, Sony is raising the prices of PlayStations in various countries, but not in the U.S., evidently to pay for the U.S. tariffs on PlayStations.

Sony Hikes Playstation 5 Price Up To 11% In Major Markets - Except The US | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Trump said the the country of origin would pay for U.S. tariffs on its goods, but he forgot to mention that countries around the world, but not the U.S., would pay for U.S. tariffs. Evidently that is an extra, surprise benefit for the U.S.

 

[bigguyca]

European rating agency Scope sends US downgrade warning. Look at the currency exchange between Euro and US dollar. The dollar is down to .88 for one Euro. Far lower than 2 months ago. Even without the Tariffs this could cause many to avoid purchases outside the country. The US dollar is worth 10% less than it was just 60 days ago.

Berlin-based Scope, which is used alongside S&P Global, Moody's and Fitch by the European Central Bank to judge creditworthiness, said one of the most exposed countries to the trade war was the U.S. itself, particularly in more extreme scenarios. Scope currently rates the U.S. AA with a "negative" outlook. That is lower than the AA+ scores of S&P and Fitch. Moody's is the only major agency to still rate the U.S. a top-grade "triple A".

As far as I'm concerned, currency devaluation has made it a poor time to buy anything outside the USA. As to the OP's question, higher prices are already here. Austerity will actually be the best financial move now until this is resolved.

The U.S. now has a huge debt load. Paying back a debt with cheaper dollars is good for the U.S., not so good for the debt holders. If those outside the U.S. won't buy U.S. debt then the Fed or the U.S. Treasury will buy it and print dollars.

The PRC has typically held a large and growing amount of U.S. debt. Essentially the PRC held and grew the debt so that the PRC could run a large balance of trade surplus with the U.S. The U.S. debt becomes a way of subsidizing PRC industry. If the PRC somehow wanted to be paid in say gold to cover the balance of trade surplus, then the U.S. couldn't pay for the goods and industry in the PRC would suffer and companies in the U.S. would make the goods. Unfortunately overtime this system of trade decimated U.S. industry to a point where is became a serious issue for the U.S., thus we are where we are. Interest expenses mounted but the Fed can just print money to cover the interest.

While this won't happen due to politics in the PRC, a guess is that the PRC would be willing to just forget about the U.S. debt and start again a zero if the U.S. would continue the trade imbalances. The U.S. debt that the PRC owns is just representative of a subsidy to PRC businesses not a debt that the PRC plans to somehow collect even if it could be collected.

There are two countries in the world that can easily survive and thrive in a world without extensive trade. These countries are the U.S. and Russia. Each these countries has the natural resources, size, population, single language, and history of acting as a independent country.

The EU considered as a country as an example, lacks the natural resources, single language and history as a country. Germany is somewhat presentative of the EU. Germany never had a chance in WWI or WWII due to a lack of natural resources and population. Peacetime has most of the same characteristics as wartime. The EU as a grouping is weaker that Germany was and is on its own.

 

[Azrael]

View attachment 444527This is the German version of "Marmite" or "Vegemite" with the difference that Vitam-R uses whole baker's yeast cells and a liitle sea salt, instead of spent brewer's yeast.

I am German, but I have never seen or heard of this product..

 

[Vacceo]

Heinz ketchup recipe is not the same in Europe and USA, and there could be also some differences between countries in EU but that I'm not sure.

That is actually the case with Coke. Pepsi is a but more consisten around EU, yet still fairly difference from the US.

 

[amper42]

The U.S. now has a huge debt load. Paying back a debt with cheaper dollars is good for the U.S., not so good for the debt holders. If those outside the U.S. won't buy U.S. debt then the Fed or the U.S. Treasury will buy it and print dollars.

The PRC has typically held a large and growing amount of U.S. debt. Essentially the PRC held and grew the debt so that the PRC could run a large balance of trade surplus with the U.S. The U.S. debt becomes a way of subsidizing PRC industry. If the PRC somehow wanted to be paid in say gold to cover the balance of trade surplus, then the U.S. couldn't pay for the goods and industry in the PRC would suffer and companies in the U.S. would make the goods. Unfortunately overtime this system of trade decimated U.S. industry to a point where is became a serious issue for the U.S., thus we are where we are. Interest expenses mounted but the Fed can just print money to cover the interest.

While this won't happen due to politics in the PRC, a guess is that the PRC would be willing to just forget about the U.S. debt and start again a zero if the U.S. would continue the trade imbalances. The U.S. debt that the PRC owns is just representative of a subsidy to PRC businesses not a debt that the PRC plans to somehow collect even if it could be collected.

There are two countries in the world that can easily survive and thrive in a world without extensive trade. These countries are the U.S. and Russia. Each these countries has the natural resources, size, population, single language, and history of acting as a independent country.

The EU considered as a country as an example, lacks the natural resources, single language and history as a country. Germany is somewhat presentative of the EU. Germany never had a chance in WWI or WWII due to a lack of natural resources and population. Peacetime has most of the same characteristics as wartime. The EU as a grouping is weaker that Germany was and is on its own.

Lot of assumptions here that may be incorrect. China is currently uninterested in negotiation with Trump over tariffs. They are also selling US bonds which will keep US interest rates higher. The unusual trades in US Treasuries over the last two weeks lead some to believe significant investment dollars are leaving the USA. It's possible Trump Tariff threats will back fire on US and actually increase debt as economy slows. Fed operations incurred $114 billion loss in 2023, $77.6 billion in 2024. Gold is shooting higher.

 

[Esprit]

Well, if you're being honnest, saying '' I'm being realistic'' is just a covert way to say '' I'm right and you're wrong ''

No, it means what I am in this case, how I feel, what I think and what I read.
Me, not you.
Have a nice day

 

[Esprit]

As an example, Sony is raising the prices of PlayStations in various countries, but not in the U.S., evidently to pay for the U.S. tariffs on PlayStations.

PlayStation is less important than toilet paper.
They will sell less of it.

 

[Esprit]

The EU considered as a country as an example, lacks the natural resources, single language and history as a country. Germany is somewhat presentative of the EU. Germany never had a chance in WWI or WWII due to a lack of natural resources and population. Peacetime has most of the same characteristics as wartime. The EU as a grouping is weaker that Germany was and is on its own.

You are not European, right?
Have a nice day

 

[Snoopy]

The U.S. now has a huge debt load. Paying back a debt with cheaper dollars is good for the U.S., not so good for the debt holders. If those outside the U.S. won't buy U.S. debt then the Fed or the U.S. Treasury will buy it and print dollars.

The PRC has typically held a large and growing amount of U.S. debt. Essentially the PRC held and grew the debt so that the PRC could run a large balance of trade surplus with the U.S. The U.S. debt becomes a way of subsidizing PRC industry. If the PRC somehow wanted to be paid in say gold to cover the balance of trade surplus, then the U.S. couldn't pay for the goods and industry in the PRC would suffer and companies in the U.S. would make the goods. Unfortunately overtime this system of trade decimated U.S. industry to a point where is became a serious issue for the U.S., thus we are where we are. Interest expenses mounted but the Fed can just print money to cover the interest.

While this won't happen due to politics in the PRC, a guess is that the PRC would be willing to just forget about the U.S. debt and start again a zero if the U.S. would continue the trade imbalances. The U.S. debt that the PRC owns is just representative of a subsidy to PRC businesses not a debt that the PRC plans to somehow collect even if it could be collected.

There are two countries in the world that can easily survive and thrive in a world without extensive trade. These countries are the U.S. and Russia. Each these countries has the natural resources, size, population, single language, and history of acting as a independent country.

The EU considered as a country as an example, lacks the natural resources, single language and history as a country. Germany is somewhat presentative of the EU. Germany never had a chance in WWI or WWII due to a lack of natural resources and population. Peacetime has most of the same characteristics as wartime. The EU as a grouping is weaker that Germany was and is on its own.

You sound a bit like the main character from a Robert A. Heinlein Novel

I imagine it’s rather difficult for someone in the US to get this but
In the EU it’s not uncommon for people to speak 2-3 languages.
We somehow managed and are still kicking around.

Ah yes war.. something needs to keep the US economy running somehow .

But we are also on a Audio forum. How many people in the US are buying topping/SMSL type of products because they are not able to afford made in America as it is?
I’m sure these people won’t be able to do so after they pay all the tariffs.

 

[Esprit]

Ah yes war.. something needs to keep the US economy running somehow .

United Europe is investing 800 billion in armaments.
I honestly don't like it, but if we have to defend ourselves without some former allies we will be ready.

 

[Waxx]

The EU considered as a country as an example, lacks the natural resources, single language and history as a country. Germany is somewhat presentative of the EU. Germany never had a chance in WWI or WWII due to a lack of natural resources and population. Peacetime has most of the same characteristics as wartime. The EU as a grouping is weaker that Germany was and is on its own.

It's clear that you don't know Europe. The language may not be the same, but we got a similar culture and french and english are de facto lingua franca's (universal languages). French used to be that for centuries, but in the 20est century it largely moved to English, in that manor that even the French are learning English now.

And our economy is very integrated. The perfect example is my function. I work (as consulltant) for a Belgian company in the french facotry of that company, and nobody cares a lot about it. It's also not abnormal that you work in a different country than where you live. Many thousands do that in europe, probally even millions...

And the EU economy is solid, our companies and banking system are old and experienced and have solid financial feet. We may not run in the picture like many US companies do, but we are everywhere in the backbone of the industry, something the chinese also try to do (with success). It needs a more long term vission to get there than the US company culture allows, but it's the safest and most profitable way on the long run. The US focus on the fast money scheme, but those are not lasting. That is why their economy is so fragile and ours not.

And you say we don't have resources, that is also not true. We don't exploit resources at the moment as the market makes it not profitable. But we got the minerals in our soil also, and we got a big recycling industry that recycle a lot of them so we don't have to dig for new ones. After the recent political developments, the EU is looking to reopen mines for minerals where we depend to much on the import and after a short study we found enough of them to solve it (it still need to be mined altough, but we know it's in the ground).