Increased Shipping Rates from China

[Shadders]

Hi,

Being in the UK, i am not sure i understand the comments.

 

Does increasing the import duty on non-USA goods mean that they become more expensive, allowing USA companies to compete ?

 

Isn't this a good thing ?

 

I purchased some PCB's from a UK supplier, and compared to the Chinese offerings - Chinese manufacturing was approximately 1/5 to 1/8 of the UK price. In some instances, the air freight costs, cost more than the manufactured PCB's.

 

I will always buy British where possible. Using offshore is a race to the bottom. Once all the technology services are offshore - then this is only detrimental to the country. Loss of companies and revenue generation, and more importantly, loss of experienced engineering people.

 

It is the same for the UK Nuclear industry - we are outsourcing this to China where the cost per kWh is twice (2x) that of the current energy costs - all because the UK government fails to understand the long term investment requirements. The UK companies will decline in this industry, experts will sadly pass on, and we will have no experts in this field in the UK.

 

Every countries strategy should be to ensure that they retain expertise and manufacturing - once it has disappeared, then it is much harder to get back.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

[Shadders]

2 hours ago, Richard Dale said:

Can you provide examples what 'serious problems' have been caused by China 'stealing' intellectual property'?

Hi,

As below :

https://www.businessinsider.com/9-photos-of-j-31-chinas-copycat-version-of-the-f-35-stealth-fighter-2018-10?r=US&IR=T

 

Not sure if a serious problem will appear.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

[Shadders]

Hi,

I did a quick check of things immediately around me at home.

 

Google Chromecast - Made in China.

Cherry Keyboard - Made in China.

Dell Laptop - Made in China.

Bosch Kettle - Made in China.

Home Electricity Energy Tracking Device - Made in China.

 

The reason goods are made in China is because of the profits to be made by the western companies due to the extremely cheap labour from China including material costs. It is not because they are good engineers - this is secondary at best.

 

What i do not understand is, if patriotism is such an important thing in the US, then why do the US people ignore the product origins and why not only buy those goods that support US labour ?

 

The current tarrifs may be politically motivated, but then, isn't this just supporting the patriotism that is part of the US culture ?

 

Regards,

Shadders.

[Shadders]

Hi,

To add to this - there is a current issue in regards to British Steel (was hived off from Tata) in that it has now gone into receivership today. Why did this occur - please see :

 

https://news.sky.com/story/the-surprising-facts-behind-the-declining-steel-industry-11725482

 

The last paragraph states "And yet it is still struggling, amid competition from China, environmental costs and the difficulties of competing against foreign counterparts who get constant support from their governments"

 

So in the UK we have to meet carbon targets, and China doesn't care about those. They are constantly getting help from their governments, where under European Law we cannot help.

 

One aspect is, the Chinese government are wilfully and purposefully driving down the costs of steel to ensure that no other country can compete. The Chinese government are actively and intentionally, harming the other businesses in the world.

 

So, what else can you do, if your ethos and strategy is to create a fair and open trading culture, bound by laws, and another country is determined to undermine you, at the very least ?

 

Whether you like Trump or not, at least he is taking action against aggressive foreign power.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

[Shadders]

Hi,

I was not aware of the Chinese allowing their people to be used in such a manner. I am surprised that Europe allowed this - as the EuCHR would not allow for this.

 

In the UK, people do have to complete community service if they commit crimes, else it is gaol.

 

As you can see, it is the Chinese regime that is the problem, not the people.

 

What is annoying, is that within the EU, the UK abides by all the rules, yet some states ignore them, and the EU does nothing. We in the UK abide by the rules to the detriment of UK industry, but other countries flout the laws and ensure that their own industries take preference. This is one of the reasons that Brexit was voted for.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

[Shadders]

1 hour ago, Paul R said:

 

The problem is that this becomes a very fine line indeed. So, British Steel (the Tata born version) was profitable two years ago, and goes into receivership in 2019. Greybull has some explaining to do.

 

If I understand correctly, Greybull would not work with the British Government to save the company. That may or may not be true, as details seem to be sketchy, but what is clear is the government is doing a lot to save those jobs, even offering an indemnity to whoever will be the new owners. That seems like a balanced government response. 

 

As to competition with China, well, it is difficult to compete against companies where people are expected to work 7 days a week for low pay. Versus in the U.K. were salaries are high, vacations are guaranteed, and there are pension plans. Not impossible, but difficult, and dependent upon the financial management. Seems to me Greybull picked up the company with expectations of quick profit, not long term viability. 

 

I am not saying it is right, and I sure empathize with those folks who are facing economic strife if they lose their jobs. But tariffs, which will raise the cost of everything else hurting those workers, while benefiting companies like Greybull Capital - well - you can guess how I feel about that. 

 

As for the tariffs here,  they are not going to protect anyone except the people here who are the equivalent of Greybull Capital there. Not the people the politicians say they are protecting. In some ways, China is more honest about that than any Western country. Not that such economic rape is admirable anywhere. 

 

Hi,

Greybull purchased the steel works for £1, since Tata wanted to remove them from their company. Greybull were able to turn the company profitable, but only recently, due to Brexit causing lack of orders, and carbon emissions requirements, did it need to borrow money from the government. China did previously dump steel on the market - which had an impact.

 

We in the UK are bound by EU laws which severely restrict supporting industry,although some of the member states ignore the rules.

 

In respect to the workers rights - we have zero hours contracts here, and only recently the minimum wage. Pensions were not compulsory - and again, recently everyone now has to pay into one.

 

We should not support policies that are a race to the bottom - as per my previous post in this thread, the rich are getting richer, and the poor getting poorer in the UK.

 

The US response to China may be incorrect in approach, but China has wilfully attacked the west business by their own behaviour/strategy which is detrimental to us, and its people - i think we just need a fair world to live in.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

[Shadders]

1 hour ago, DuckToller said:

Shipping rates from the US to Europe are as well PITA ...
Today I wanted to order 1 CD from Brooklyn to France ...
Brass Against - Brass Against,  from their webshop.
Shipping tarif was 18 USD, the CD was 9 USD ...
I feel downloading flac files from international shops has its merits.
I finally ordered the item to someone I know in the City of the Lakes, which was just 5 USD shipping.
Cheers, Tom
 

Hi,

I ordered components from Mouser UK, as the total is more often than not, cheaper than Farnell and RS Online. The delivery is free from Mouser - and they ship from the US. For some reason they did not ship 30x surface mount resistors in the large order i placed, and it was later shipped free from Texas, US to London, buy air freight. Mouser must have a very good contract with shipping company.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

[Shadders]

3 minutes ago, mansr said:

Digi-Key also offer free shipping to the UK with, like Mouser, a minimum order of ~$40. RS do free UK shipping with no minimum. That can be very useful, even if the price is a little higher (and sometimes they're actually the cheapest). 

Hi,

Yes - they were very much cheaper for some power transistors if you purchased 25x.

Regards,

Shadders.