No doubt if the Chinese or Mexican tariffs last more than a couple months, there will be unintended consequences.
For those importing and selling audio products made in China or products made with parts from China, their cost will be going up. Obviously, they will want to pass them along...but often times with higher prices come lower sales so there will also be pressure not to raise prices. If sales are low enough, there could actually be price reductions and possibly, in an almost worst case scenario, layoffs.
Often times, it is the biggest companies, those that rely on scale, that produce in China...so, not to pick on KEF, but are we as buyers currently getting a big savings because of production in China? One might argue that we are not, or one might argue that KEF would have to have higher prices if their products were made in Europe or the U.S.
Where does that leave us? My experience over the past few years has been that there are really good small American companies making great products here in the U.S. that might actually benefit from tariffs if it means that more people decide to give them a try.
Tariffs are not a good thing overall, they are a tool to be used to try to get a more level playing field. They will have unintended consequences. Some will benefit, some will not. In the end, between good small American companies and possibly a more robust preowned market, I suspect we don't really have that much to fret about...from an audio perspective that is.
For those importing and selling audio products made in China or products made with parts from China, their cost will be going up. Obviously, they will want to pass them along...but often times with higher prices come lower sales so there will also be pressure not to raise prices. If sales are low enough, there could actually be price reductions and possibly, in an almost worst case scenario, layoffs.
Often times, it is the biggest companies, those that rely on scale, that produce in China...so, not to pick on KEF, but are we as buyers currently getting a big savings because of production in China? One might argue that we are not, or one might argue that KEF would have to have higher prices if their products were made in Europe or the U.S.
Where does that leave us? My experience over the past few years has been that there are really good small American companies making great products here in the U.S. that might actually benefit from tariffs if it means that more people decide to give them a try.
Tariffs are not a good thing overall, they are a tool to be used to try to get a more level playing field. They will have unintended consequences. Some will benefit, some will not. In the end, between good small American companies and possibly a more robust preowned market, I suspect we don't really have that much to fret about...from an audio perspective that is.