I have been hurt directly by Chinese tarrifs

[Shanti Mama]

My little tiny company, trying to gain traction in the market, closed a deal to ship some product (a raw material) to China for use by a company there to manufacture a final product to be shipped back to the US for sale. This sale was a really big deal for us, right when we need it most.

Chinese customs would not clear it. They made all kinds of weak excuses that had no standing in the rules and regs. It was clear to all that they were simply being obstructionist as a show of power against the US.

It's not worth shipping the product back so today I authorized its destruction. Typing that is hard. We're trying to raise capital and this could have put us over the top. Now, I don't know.

DAMN the orange idiot! For my pain and suffering and for all that he causes to so many. And for the unfathomable damage he's doing to our country.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. I'm sorry to hear this news (and I feel for you too), you have enough issues to deal w/, I'm ...

sure, other than this artificially induced business barrier that should have never ever happened. Negotiations would have resolved issues w/ Chinese trade, but this didn't happen. rump just arbitrarily decided.

Good luck to you.

[Roland99]

2. Twitler doesn't know shit about business. He just knows Grifting

[dalton99a]

17. and money laundering for the Russian mob

[Lucky Luciano]

3. You should have been a multinational conglomerate if you wanted to do that.

Seriously, I’m sorry to hear this.

Fuck tr$&p.

[fescuerescue]

4. Wait wait wiat

Why don't you just make the product here? Instead of outsourcing it to the Chinese?

[Roy Rolling]

6. Hmmm

I don't understand either. What raw materials are shipped to China for manufacturing and then shipped back as a completed product to the U.S. for sale?

[kwassa]

7. Probably cost of manufacturing affecting final sales price.

Not cost competitive to make it here.

[LSFL]

5. Just watched many HVAC components jump by 10 to 25%

The contractors are blaming my company for the increase. I don't bother to try to educate them anymore. I just hope they don't have children.

[Ms. Toad]

8. Have you done chinese deals before?

I've had a number of similar business dealings with China. It is notoriously hard to repatriate things - especially money or software. Did the raw materials you were shipping (or the product being made) include software or firmware?

And - not being in the rules and regs is par for the course. Complying with SOX is a challenge when the rules and regulations are not clear, (or directly contradict what you are being told) and bribery is expected as a way to unglue the works.

Sorry, and damn the orange idiot, but what you are reporting is very similar to my experiences dealing with China between 2000 and 2014, when the orange idiot was not in office.

[Shanti Mama]

20. This is a textile project. Repatriation would be easy.

Our customer chose China. WE have avoided it til now.

We were well aware that Chinese customs might make it tough. Our two different consultants came to the conclusion that this was above and beyond their normal obstructionism. The rules are clear. They made up new ones that made no sense and were, quite literally, impossible to meet.

We were willing to play the game. This time, they were not.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Ms. Toad]

22. I was just involved in way too many long negotiations

trying to repatriate both goods and money. It was largely the demand for bribes (or other illegal activity) that created hang-ups because we were bound by Sarbanes-Oxley - and since they (by and large) didn't understand being bound by the rule of law and assumed we would ultimately play their game.

[elmac]

9. the orange idiot is just doing what his voting idiots want

I believe 4 things will happen, probably planned to happen while Dems are in control, the stock market will crash, interest rates will skyrocket, housing will collapse and hyper inflation will kick in.

[BigmanPigman]

10. Michael Moore told Chris Hayes

exactly what we already knew but it is good to hear it anyway...
The fucking moron has NO ideology. He is not pro America. He is pro tRump He sees running the US as a business...his own business that he thinks he can run by himself. And we all know how successful he ran his own business and who he got $$$ from to keep it afloat. Moore said at least Pence has an ideology, you may not agree with it but he has one and you can debate him on it. The moron has none. His goal is to screw the US like he did his own failed businesses, with or without help from Russia and the mob.

[Old Artillery Man]

11. So have I

At one time, here in the US, many manufacturing plants no longer exit because of Free Trade Agreements.
I have a degree in Textile Engineering. In my mid thirties, I had worked up to the Overseer of Weaving and Slashing. The plant manager was just a little over two years before retiring. At his retirement, I would become plant manager.
Even then, the Free Trade Agreements was seriously affecting the Textile industry. We all were called to a hastily arranged meeting with the workers of the mill. Production was halted and everyone was crowded in for the meeting. We were told that as the material on hand was processed thru the mill it would be shut down. Many of the people that worked there had been there many years. As we left the meeting, many where crying.
Three times in my working years, this happened to me. Each time was a step back down for me. The last was when I was fifty-nine years old. Three years before I was old enough to draw Social Security.
There were thousands of textile employees. Now there is none. It is the same in many other industries.
If it were to come to a situation that we had to make a big increase in our military forces, we would have to buy the uniforms and shoes from a foreign country. We no longer have manufacturing that can produce these and so many otherthings
At one time, the USA was the biggest lender in the world. Now we are the largest in debt nation in the world. We buy from China and then we borrowed the money back from them. We do not pay the debt down, just the interest. How long can this go on?
Yes, I think the trade deals should be redone to protect our industry and workers. That does not mean that it should have been unilaterally by Trump. Nor do I think Trump should have ever been allowed anywhere near the Presidency.

[GulfCoast66]

15. That sucks. But there is another side of the story.

I have reached the point in my career where I can buy American goods where possible and always do so. But the cost. A pair of US made pants are 2-3 times the cost of imported ones. 20 years ago there was a quality difference that made it worth buying American. But the quality of foreign made products go up, as do their costs as other countries lift themselves out of total poverty. I am old enough to remember when Japanese made products were of inferior quality. That changed quickly.

And available labor is another problem. Where I work almost all employees were native born Americans 35 years ago. But it is Blue Collar work. While it pays well for the type of work, The type of kids that used to come here and work are now going to college and getting professional jobs.

We are manufacturing more and more high-end products. But sewing products is a tough sell for many kids.

This is why abandoning the TPP was so devastating. We had the chance to tie overseas labor standards to free trade.

And Mechanization and robotics have totally changed manufacturing. Even had the textile industry not gone overseas, the number of employees in the industry would have shrunk dramatically do to automation.

As we now know, trade is very complicated!

[Shanti Mama]

19. This is a textile project, but it's not possible -- yet -- to do it here

We're working on Made in America, but we need uptake of our unusual, niche fiber first. We can't do everything at once!

[OhioBlue]

16. Welcome to DU

I know what you are talking about. Ohio has many similar stories. The evolution of manufacturing has been both a success and a sad story in our area. A person or group of people start a manufacturing business, grow the firm, make lots of money and provide a lot of jobs. Workers organize and negotiate better wages and benefits. Owners live in the community, serve on boards of non-profits, donate to the local YMCA or parks, kids go to school with the kids of the employees... They were truly part of the community and saw their legacy improved by philanthropic donations. Second generation, continues the company, continues the public service. Third generation many times looks to cash out. Sells to a corporation which lacks community ties. Shareholder return is the most important thing.

Combine the evolution of manufacturing firms with economists pushing for free trade agreements based in theory and numbers without looking at the actual workers that would be displaced and the avalanche of effects on the local economies and communities. We were not ready to transition to a "service economy" nor did political leaders put in place things needed for that transition. Lots of people lost jobs and as you attest, they not only lost one job, but then another and another. People in their 50s that had spent their lives in factories were trying to retrain for HVAC or medical coding. Some successful, some not. The transition of around 1995-2005 really sucked for a lot of people and their families.

IMO - political leaders were wrong about the trade agreements back in the '90s. They were not handled well for the fallout workers experienced and the planning and timing were off. That being said, what Trump is doing now is also a huge mistake. Those plants are not going to just "come back". He is now driving up inflation for a working class that is already hurting and lowering crop prices for farmers. It is also driving some manufacturers that remained to other markets.

[Shanti Mama]

18. This is a textile project and I feel your pain

Our customer, the clothing brand, chose China but would be happy with Made in America. I'm now working on a supply chain for that but it's not easy and will probably end up costing too much.

The same is true in Europe. I visited the largest flax mill in the Netherlands. The owner was very matter of fact, after watching all his work shift to China. He was no longer sad that his industry, hundreds of years in the making, is now operating in China. He sold all his production lines to China. Lowlands Europe still grows the best flax in the world, but very little of it is processed to textiles there, or even Eastern Europe.

I don't know that protectionism is the answer, but fair playing fields are. To the extent that government can make this happen, I'm for it.

[Johnny2X2X]

12. We are about to lose a huge contract.

I work for a large American corporation and we have a JV with the Chinese. Really a joint effort to develop something. The money was going to be in the follow up work for the next generation of the product. They’re giving it to the Russians. Multi billion dollar deal when it’s all said and done.

[roamer65]

13. My company was hit by 200 percent tariff on our major Chinese import.

Chances of a bonus this year are gone.

I hope that fucker keels over dead from a heart attack.

[ellie]

14. I, too, am a small business owner

who relies on Chinese goods to fulfill my business. The myth that the repukes care about the small business owner is just that, a myth.

[CrispyQ]

21. I'm sorry to hear that.

The scope of destruction he's caused is staggering & he's not even half way through his term.

Consider writing your experience up as a Letter To The Editor (LTTE) & send it to your local paper. That's still a good thing to do, even in the digital age.