Trump Tariffs and Classic Cars

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Tarriffs affect on the classic car hobby. I think that tariffs will have an affect, but not anything that would be considered “devastating”. There is just a small amount of classic parts coming from Mexico and Canada. There is much that comes from China, but not as much as many might think. People commonly confuse/conflate Taiwan with China, which is a horrible mistake. Taiwan is NOT China. And the vast majority of reproduction restoration parts come from Taiwan, not China. So… Will there be an affect? Yes. Major? No. • Do you think that China will meet demands by the Trump administration to avoid the tariffs? That’s a tough one. I sure hope so. But, honestly, my gut is telling me “toss a coin, it’s 50/50”. • Not that you can see into the mind of the Chinese government, but do you think they even care? They reportedly are not as financially “robust” as many might think. So I think they care. And I think that they also might see the potential prospect of 12 straight years of Republican leadership in the U.S.. And that is a wake-up call as well. So… Do they finally decide to “play ball”, or do they literally go to war with the U.S. economically? I’m flipping a coin. • Roughly how much of our classic car parts are made in China? Taiwan? I really don’t have that answer as a measurable stat. My best guess? 2%-3% China. 20%-25% Taiwan. • Are the tariffs going to affect Taiwan the same as they would mainland China? Nope!! Trust me folks, there’s a REASON why we need to protect our friends in Taiwan. Not only is it a capitalist and democratic society, the levels of craftsmanship, quality, and overall ethics/pride are exponentially higher in Taiwan. • I'm guessing that the increase costs will just be passed on to consumers? Yes, that’s all that can be done. It’s not like we have “wiggle room” with our margins in this industry. It’s a competitive industry. If our costs rise, our retails must rise equally. If not, we fly smack into the side of the mountain. Some companies might try to mitigate the increased costs, by reducing payroll, or skimping on packing materials, or refusing claims/returns, but we refuse to compromise our levels of service and ethic. • • • Will the increased cost via the tarrifs be implemented across the board, or will it just be on the parts coming in after the tariffs are in place? I’ve already seen some of our suppliers do “across the board” kneejerk (premature in my view) increases. And I think that’s moronic. And, of course, it’s large companies run by guys in suits and ties I’d imagine LOL… No, our increases will only apply to the specific items that we have seen increases in costs on. Unfortunately, we do not have control over all of our suppliers though. If they smack us with an across-the-board increase, then we must increase everything that we buy from that shortsighted and lazy supplier. • It seems that logistically it would be a pain to only do the new parts coming in post tariff, would logic dictate that NPD, and possibly other companies, just do a 10 percent increase all at once on say sheet metal? No.. We’d wait until the increases hit our dock. Besides, again, I’ll repeat, Taiwan is not China. And Taiwan stamps ALL of the imported sheet metal. China produces hardly any of it. So don’t worry about your sheet metal needs. • Add anything you like to this. Normally we would sit down and I would talk to you about it prior to the interview to gauge where you're at these are the questions that I could come up with right off the top of my head today. I’m certainly not an economist or analyst of any kind. I view these tariffs as negotiating weapons. Heavy-handed ones. Which, truthfully, are probably necessary.. Otherwise, the USA just always gets played for the fool. So, I’m supportive of the goals, and at this point, I think that the implications of the tariffs are far more potentially-detrimental to our OVERALL economy, than they are just to restoration parts. The problem won’t be higher prices for all parts. The problem will be having the spare money to afford the parts, due to how many other household items we rely upon that are made in China. It’s not the first bumpy road NPD has driven over, and we’ll drive over this one too. NPD is BUILT for bumpy roads, because we carry such a healthy and huge in-stock inventory, this “tariff war” might be over and done with before we have to actually re-order much of it, or deplete existing stock. And even if it does bite us, it’ll bite our competitors worse. So I’m ready to weather the storm. • Thanks for your help on this I appreciate it. No problem!! I’m outa here!!! • • • The China Tarriffs • It’s a Rainy day in South Carolina and I am finally ready to dig into the Tarriff situation to you know…….shed some light on the subject. Lets do this. • #automotive #insperation #Cars #whyilikecars # • Episode 8 The Rumble • [email protected] • Insta: @autorestomod • www.patreon.com/gasolinemedia • [email protected] • Insta: @autorestomod • www.patreon.com/gasolinemedia

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