Retailers Warn Of Price Hikes Before Christmas As More Tariffs Go Into Effect

The Trump administration raised tariffs another 5% officially on Wednesday, prompting angry warnings from retailers about price increases on goods such as toys before the holiday shopping season. It sure looks like the punishment on the already cash strapped American consumer will not abate anytime soon.

More than 160 other business groups, including the National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, and Association of Equipment Manufacturers, have urged President Donald Trump to postpone the tariffs, warning they would hit Americans in the middle of the busy holiday shopping season.

According to Reuters, the Trump administration made it official. There is now an extra 5% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports and set collection dates of September 1 and December 15, prompting hundreds of U.S. retail, footwear, toy, and technology companies to warn of price hikes.  Make no mistake, a tariff is a tax, taxation is theft, and consumers within the United States will suffer under the weight of the increased cost of goods. 

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People seem to be overly mad at China for “taking advantage of America” however, punishing the American consumer is far from teaching the Chinese a lesson – especially because the government insisting on the tariffs is the same government who caused the problems with China to begin with. Burdensome regulations on businesses in the United States made producing goods in China look more appealing and from the very beginning, this has had an effect on everyday people in America just trying to work and get by.

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I get a lot of flack for saying the truth about this trade war, but it’s not doing anyone any service by lying about who ends up paying for it. Just because Trump’s motives are good, doesn’t mean he’s doing the right thing by making Americans suffer the financial burdens of the tariffs. For the past two years, the Trump administration has been attempting to pressure China into eliminating unfair trade practices and make sweeping changes to its policies on intellectual property protection, forced transfers of technology to Chinese firms, industrial subsidies, and market access for U.S. companies.  But the regulations causing all of those problems were written by the U.S. government, who is now punishing Americans for the failures of the political establishment.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said in an official notice that collections of a 15% tariff will begin at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) Sunday on a portion of the list covering over $125 billion of targeted goods from China.

This initial tranche includes smartwatches, Bluetooth headphones, flat-panel televisions and many types of footwear.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will also start collecting a 15% tariff on Dec. 15 on the remainder of the $300 billion list, including cellphones, laptop computers, toys and clothing, USTR said in the Federal Register filing. –Reuters

More than 200 U.S. footwear companies on Wednesday said that the added 15% tax on shoes would come on top of tariffs that already average 11% and reach 67% on some shoes, boosting the costs paid for by consumers by $4 billion every year. “Imposing tariffs in September on the majority of all footwear products from China – including nearly every type of leather shoe – will make it impossible for hardworking American individuals and families to escape the harm that comes from these tax increases,” the companies wrote in a letter to Trump.

This article has been contributed by SHTF Plan. Visit www.SHTFplan.com for alternative news, commentary and preparedness info.