BUSINESS
Tech Tariffs: A Shift in Manufacturing, Not Jobs
CES 2025, USAWed Jan 22 2025
You might think tech tariffs are designed to bring jobs back home. But in reality, they're just shifting manufacturing to other countries. Take a Chinese company selling data center cables. They have factories in China and Thailand. Why Thailand? Because the U. S. slapped a 20% tariff on Chinese products. So, to avoid that extra cost, they set up shop in Thailand, where the tariff is zero. And guess what? The raw materials still come from China!
This isn't an isolated case. At CES 2025, companies from China were boasting about their factories in Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Sure, local workers benefit, but U. S. jobs? Not so much. China's been prepping for tariffs for years. They're ready, and they're not losing market share.
So, are tech tariffs a waste of time? They might be helping workers in Thailand, but they're not bringing jobs back to the U. S. It's a complex game of cat and mouse, and China seems to be winning.
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questions
How effective are U.S. tariffs in bringing jobs back to America, given the adaptations by Chinese companies?
What are the long-term economic impacts of U.S. tariffs on tech imports from China?
In what ways could U.S. trade policies be more effective in stimulating domestic manufacturing?
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