The SteelNavy.Com Message Board: Re: We have been harmed. The tariffs will cause us considerable additional harm.

At least the ACA provided millions of Americans with badly needed health insurance, something nearly all first world countries provide universally. It remains to be seen what if any benefits we will see from these tariffs.

One thing is certain. Prices will rise. For everything. World trade is so interdependent today that it’s impossible to produce anything here without some need for foreign goods. Even products made in America rely in some way on foreign items. If they aren’t a part of the product, they are part of the machinery that makes the product, or part of the vehicles that transport the products to market.

These tariffs are truly evidence that in some cases trickle down really does work. In the end, the cost for everything is going to go up, with likely little or no benefit to the American people.

Previous Message

Hi All,

This isn't the first time, what is a political decision, has affect this industry. Back in 2014, another political decision was implemented, and the effects are still taking their toll. When the individual mandate for the Affordable Care Act went into effect in January 2014, our sales dropped straight down 40% in that first month. They have stayed there ever since. This isn't the first time decisions of a political nature have had an effect on the overall economy, and it won't be the last. Some businesses will struggle, as we have since 2014, but they will also find ways to cope with those decisions. Right now, there is no fixed target, since the target is constantly shifting, but eventually adaptation will occur.

In 2014, the biggest rewards from the individual mandate's effect were the non-domestic model manufacturers, since they were unaffected by the mandate, and so they could keep prices low, and in some instances make them lower. The mandate took disposable income out of the market, since there was a financial penalty attached to this mandate, and the model industry relies on disposable income. Companies either adapted to the new artificial lowering of disposable income, or closed the doors. We were able to adapt, others didn't. Tariffs are the same artificial cost as this, and after awhile, adaptation will occur once the initial shock to the structure is over.

Just like the ACA, tariffs are not going to just go away, so it's time to once again have to adapt to a new artificial cost.

Jon