Tariffs – What’s Happening Out There?

“Uncertainty, that’s what’s happening out there.” SidLinx.com.

"Uncertainty, that's what's happening out there."

Want to know what’s happening out there in tariff world, here are titbits from here, there and everywhere.

At Home

My grandson, his partner and I were at the range, enjoying each other’s company while smacking golf balls everywhere. Now my grandson listens to what Bryson De Chambeau has to say on his YT channel than to anybody older than thirty, Bryson and golfers excepted. Grandson knows more about how far Bryson hits the ball than anything remotely political.

To my surprise he asked, “What’s going on with China and the States?” I used a simple example to explain; a product costing $1.00 is shipped from China to the States. When it lands in the USA a tariff (it’s a tax) of 125% is charged. 1.00 + 1.25 = $2.25, which is the amount paid by the customer in the States.

New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said free trade is worth fighting for — “and I’m up for that fight”.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Reserve Bank chief economist Paul Conway are right that New Zealand must not overreact to US President Donald Trump’s disastrous trade war. Extract written by Mathew Hooton, NZH April 17, 2025.

Australia

US President Donald Trump’s tariff shakedown has sparked an investor flight back to bricks and mortar, with agents fielding a rush of fresh interest sparking mega sales. Russell Rollington, of First National Surfers Paradise, saying “feedback from buyers is that prime real estate is a safe and secure investment”. news.com.au

USA/China

China-founded e-commerce sites Temu and Shine say they plan to raise prices for U.S. customers starting next week, a ripple effect from President Donald Trump's attempts to correct the trade imbalance between the world's two largest economies by imposing a sky-high tariff on goods shipped from China. Fortune

Made-in-America CEOs are rooting for a manufacturing comeback, but they say it takes time to do it right. As markets fluctuate with the United States shifting trade policy, CEOs of American-made companies are optimistic about the push for more products to be manufactured in the US. Dominick Reuter, Business Insider

Europe

Chinese electric car tariffs could be scrapped by the EU. US tariffs have reignited a plan for minimum pricing to replace tariffs on Chinese made electric cars introduced by the European Union last year. Damian Smy, Drive. April 17, 2025

Uncertainty

The uncertainty Trump has created with his flip-flop trade policies, since his grandiose ‘Liberation Day’ on April 2 has not inspired any government to look long-term positively. How long it will take to unravel the mess he has made in the short weeks after April 2, is up for debate. What is clear, Trumps mess and the underlying implications of it, is known by all and sundry, worldwide. I suspect more shocks are coming.