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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy New Balance turned on Trump over China tariffs
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/16/economy/new-balance-china-tariffs/index.htmlWashington (CNN Business)American sneaker company New Balance welcomed President Donald Trump's tough trade stance in 2016 -- but now the athletic footwear manufacturer is strongly opposing the President's latest threat to expand tariffs on China.
New Balance boasts that it's the only major company to make more than four million pairs of athletic shoes a year domestically. It has five New England factories, with one more expected to open next year. The catch? It needs to import component parts from China that are no longer made in the United States.
"The proposed Tranche 4 tariffs will risk our company's overall financial health, which will in turn limit our ability to maintain and reinvest in our American factories," said a letter submitted by New Balance to the US Trade Representative's Office ahead of a hearing next week.
It's just one example of how many American corporations have built supply chains that span the globe, and why Trump's protectionist trade policies won't work to bring manufacturing back to the United States. It's just too hard to ding China without hurting American companies, workers and consumers along the way.
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SWBTATTReg
(22,166 posts)the complexities of the global economy...an item could literally be made of parts from 10 different, widely scattered countries (or more even). A worldwide economy (a true one for the most part) now exists and I personally IMHO think that this will keep us from ever having another world war...we're all interconnected in so many different ways, and this is a good thing.
Why can't the rest of the world enjoy the prosperity and wealth that the US has enjoyed for so long? I think it's a wonderful thing and it only brings more customers to the table for each and everyone of our products, that we all make in our factories, etc. Hourly income rates I expect are going up worldwide (I hope so) and also, various pieces of affordable technology is creeping across the globe, cell phones, cars/trucks, etc.
For those (particularly rump fans) who rail against overseas firms and / or foreign workers seemingly taking our jobs, their excuses are falling on deaf ears since their arguments and complaints are worn out and they are stuck in limbo land at their own choice (they cling to ages old technologies/old ways of doing things, don't retrain or the like, etc.). All they seem to do, is bitch and complain at everyone else but themselves (rump too).
Unemployment numbers are the lowest ever, and more than likely, the numbers remaining will always at a certain minimum level (can't get any lower, for those w/ economic degrees, you'll know what I'm talking about).
sir pball
(4,759 posts)I lived in Fairfield for six years; the "Newbie" plant up in Skowhegan is a major regional employer. Literally 90% of people in the area wear NB sneakers daily. Screwing with them is screwing with the red interior of the state. Hilary did win in 2016 but only by a few points IIRC; this could well piss them off enough to make it a double-digit lead next time.
And if poor Ms. Collins can't help, hoo-boy.
jpak
(41,759 posts)This is in the 2nd D and if Trump hurt New Balance - it would be game over for the ME GOP in 2020.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)make the parts in the United States.
About twelve years ago, I got a temp job working for a company that makes bottles and closures for perfume products. The job involved taking cases of parts, loading them into hoppers, and letting a 20 foot long machine put them together, then spit out the finished sprayer top at the end. All my job entailed was making sure the machine had its hoppers full, and to count and pack the finished product. Not a lot of "value added" on my part, and the pay was comparable for that.
Now, all of the boxes of parts were labeled "Made in France", but the cases of assembled spray-tops had labels affixed to them that said "Made in the USA". That seemed fraudulent to me, and I quit after one day.