I don't think there's any functional difference between any tariff numbers at 80%+ or so
There was a 100% tariff on electric vehicles from China under the whole Biden term. There were zero Chinese electric vehicles sold in the US in that time. They BYD Song L is an equivalent to the Tesla Y and markets around CN¥200,000 which would be only $27,200 compared to the Tesla Y starting at $50,000. Nobody wants to pay $54,000 for a chinese knockoff when a tesla is cheaper due to tariffs. When we're talking about 125% tariffs, 250% tariffs, ten googolplex tariffs, its all just equivalent to a total trade blockade.
cars are tough especially because of limited markup.
like in that example it wouldnt be 54k exactly afaik, because tariffs are on import cost, not msrp. so say they pay 24k and its msrp is 27k, it would be 48k, but they want to make 3k per car, so its really 51kmsrp now. even still 1k more for a knockoff is untenable.
i only mention it because a lot of people are doing bad tariff math based on msrp, not importer's cost. so they're looking at 2$ items that generally have HUGE markup for profit, the importer generally pays like 25-50 cents. so a 100% tariff means he now pays 50cents to 1$. its not now a 4$ msrp item, its maybe 2.25-3$.
^thesnipa
well snipy we are all waiting
you're the only one waiting, everyone else knows.
This post was edited by thesnipa on Apr 17 2025 06:13am