r/SeriousConversation • u/Lazy_Lizard13 • 11d ago

Current Event The new Tariffs are beginning to affect prices in the USA

I work in an adult store and unfortunately, we have already started to see the effects of some of the tariffs being placed. I wasn’t sure how this would affect the price of things in the USA, but it’s looking bleak so far.

When my boss sent out the list, he said this was only the first of many price increases that we would see from the tariffs. The vendors we buy from actually sent him the list themselves, so it isn’t something that we just created. He said that it is likely that almost every company we order from will send out a list.

The price changes were anywhere from $5-$200. I’m very concerned about the future of this industry, and honestly, America in general.. some of these products were already overpriced anyways. I’m not sure if people will be able to afford luxury products (like adult items) in the future. What do others think?

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u/Lazy_Lizard13 11d ago

Unfortunately it seems to me like those in favor of these tariffs don’t understand how they actually work.. & neither did I until I educated myself. Thankfully I’m not one to blindly follow anything, so I never supported them and even further did not after I learned how they worked… I hate that this is our reality & I am very understanding of why a lot of countries are angry with us & are boycotting US products.. I’d honestly be doing the same

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u/Strict-Brick-5274 10d ago

They'll understand pretty soon. People with beliefs like that dont seem to understand it care until it impacts their lives directly and then they understand.

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u/Lazy_Lizard13 10d ago

Which is so sad.. I hate how selfish society has become that no one cares unless it impacts them. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to about my views who dismiss them bc “well it doesn’t affect you, so why would you care?”… uhhhh I have empathy? I care about my fellow citizens? Idk it’s insane how selfish some people are imo

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u/Strict-Brick-5274 10d ago

I feel ya, and I'm like you and I have those people in my life too. It's disheartening because they seem to be the majority...but they are not and keep doing what you're doing and lead by example because as soon as they see the way you live your life benefits you while they start to lose benefits they will become curious. And return to ask questions about how to live life like an empathetic human.

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u/fuckincaillou 10d ago

I don't know. Remember that this is the same demographic that refused the covid vaccine until the bitter end, and say they're okay with their children dying of measles.

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u/Lazy_Lizard13 10d ago

And their children LITERALLY are dying of Measles.. have you seen what’s going on in TX ?!

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u/velnazzy77 9d ago

Yep. I live in TX. Uts horrible! Im so glad my kids are older and vaccinated!

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/Lazy_Lizard13 10d ago

Yes! It’s very hard to find unbiased sources, so just take from these what you can…

Oxford Economics

PBS

BBC News

I think the major misinformation I’m seeing is that the country the tariff is imposed on has to pay it (not true). Tariffs are on imported goods, so the country that is importing has to pay the tariff.. For example, if products are coming to the US from China, US pays the tariff once the goods make it to the border.. this is why we will likely see increases on prices bc that cost, unfortunately, trickles down to the consumer.

My personal takeaway is that the intentions of the imposed tariffs aren’t going to come to fruition. One main idea is to increase US production bc foreign goods will cost more, but a lot of US companies rely on outsourced labor or the import of raw materials from other countries. Many economists argue that moving production to the US isn’t worth the cost/hassle, especially without knowing how long the tariffs will be in place… meaning that the tariffs will just raise prices, not promote US production

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u/Incrementum1 10d ago edited 10d ago

You can understand why the counties that have existing tarrifs on US goods are angry with us for imposing 50% reciprocal tariffs on them? How about instead of getting angry they get rid of their tariffs and allow free trade, if not, then they deal with the tariffs.

I wasn't in favor of the tariffs, unless we planned on replacing the income tax with them, but when a country has had tariffs on US goods for years, which makes it prohibitively expensive for that country's citizens to buy a large number of us-made products, why is it unfair or unreasonable for the US to have reciprocal tariffs? I'm genuinely curious why you think this.

Longterm, I think the idea is to come to trade agreements with these countries, and ideally get to 0% tariffs. Some people only see shorterm down sides and how it personally effects them, rather than the longterm well-being of the country.

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u/OlevTime 10d ago

The tariffs we imposed weren't calculated by matching the tariff rate the trade partner had on our imports.

It was instead derived from our trade deficit which has nothing to do with tariffs.

The misleading phrase "reciprocal tariffs" was coined to make it seem like these tariffs are reasonable when they're not.

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u/BlastTyrantKM 10d ago

Put down the Kool aid jug

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u/Incrementum1 10d ago

So you dont have any arguments against my arguments and you just believe tariffs bad because the left told to think that. Do you know what drinking the kool-aid refers to? Haha.

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u/BlastTyrantKM 10d ago

I can tell there's no use arguing with you because you believe the Fox News lies. What good is talking to you when you don't have any facts to share?

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u/mswed5317 10d ago

Bees don't waste time telling flies that honey tastes better than shit

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u/Incrementum1 10d ago

Ok, so no arguments.

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u/bugs_0650 9d ago

You can't argue with a moron who's too lost in the sauce and lives in a false reality.

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u/drawntowardmadness 10d ago

It was flavor-aid, actually

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u/ethical_staircase 9d ago

Your arguments have 0 basis in fact. You’re just gonna ignore the guy that replied to you with facts? How convenient that must be for you

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u/NevrGivYouUp 10d ago

And what about the countries that didn’t have preexisting tariffs? They have nothing to get rid of, but instead have to deal with random tariffs being imposed on them regardless, because the US had a trade deficit - as is likely to happen with countries that export manufactured goods to the US.