SMM8 14-Bill Yeargin, chief executive of US shipmaker Correct Craft, lists in a column how badly the tariffs imposed by Trump have recently affected his company and the US economy as a whole.
Mr Trump's trade struggle has led to higher costs and threatened sales of the company's ships, Yeargin said. In fact, the Yeargin says tariffs pose a threat to the survival of the U. S. shipbuilding industry. "We find ourselves at the crossroads of a trade war that will drown out the impact of tax reform and risk ruining the bright future of the US shipbuilding industry," he said. Let American workers and consumers continue to pay a heavy price.
Trump's trade struggle has brought triple pain to American manufacturers
I. tariff leads to a rise in the price of imported parts and components
Although tariffs are used as import taxes, they in turn lead to rising prices of goods affected by these taxes. Trump imposed tariffs on Chinalco and all aluminum, two important core materials for shipbuilding. In addition, Trump has cut manufacturers' profits by imposing additional tariffs on Chinese marine engines, pushing up the price of the ship's products as a whole.
Second, due to market distortions, the prices of American goods are also rising.
Yeargin says more than 90 per cent of US companies or producers have changed their pricing of US products, such as US aluminium producers, as a result of seeing rising prices for foreign products. Domestic aluminium prices have risen 20 to 30 per cent because of market distortions caused by tariffs, according to Yeargin.
Tariffs are hurting the trade exports of American companies
Yeargin said Trump's tariffs led Canada, Mexico, the European Union and other countries to impose retaliatory tariffs on ships exported by the United States. As a result, American companies will lose a large portion of their profits from overseas sales.
Trump's trade policy will kill the United States again
Yeargin said that in view of the adverse effects of the three tariffs mentioned above, In order to maintain profits, American companies choose to fire workers to reduce labor costs, raise product prices to make consumers pay more, or move their manufacturing operations to countries that are not affected by tariffs. But none of these measures are the best policy, and Trump's tariffs will end up biting back at the United States.
"it is true that many Americans are dissatisfied with the original trade agreement, and Trump's series of tariffs have the support of some Americans," Yeargin said. However, as the trade struggle between the United States and other countries escalates, it will eventually cause permanent damage to US businesses, domestic jobs, and US consumers.
At present, the increase in costs caused by tariffs has forced many US companies to lay off workers, while others are raising the prices of their products to cope with the impact of tariffs.
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