Tariff with China, power outage and christmas end

Zoë Schiffer: I did, well, it is obvious that this is meaningful for logistical reasons. Adding tariff costs is easier than raising individual goods prices. But is this a way to make delicate actions over the Trump administration, or am I interpreting too?

Louise Matsakis: I don’t think you are, I think this is a completely clear political message. These accusations are because your country has these really high tariffs. I think this is definitely a subtle message that these companies send. I think TEMU is particularly a secret. They have no lobby in Capitol Hill. They rarely respond to media requests from journalists like me. Interestingly, I think I will do something that is politically smart, while most of the time they are silent or the decisions of politics are a bit useless.

Zoë Schiffer: As you said, at least for Teemu and Shein, now is a line. We do not see that the price of individual goods is really changing at this stage. But is this true across the board, or is there a case that we should worry about?

Louise Matsakis: The types of things you need to look for are things that are not really available anywhere else. These things like electronics, anything that is plastic. A lot of things for parents. Carriage, baby supplies, baby toys, baby clothing, all of which are almost completely made in China. These are also the product category that the margins are already very thin, so there is no room for a American manufacturer or brand to eat themselves. These are cases that are often between $ 10 and $ 30.

Zoë Schiffer: True, okay, I will not put you in the explosion and talk about the things you have recently made.

Louise Matsakis: I am glad to share with my dear readers that the next day I sent a horrible photo of many of the makeup sponges I ordered to Temu, because I refuse to return to the cost, whatever the $ 11 Sephora costs for.

Zoë Schiffer: 100 % this is a bit central, but I feel you and I have talked about how to simply open production facilities in the United States. There are many things that are very much dominated by China in space. I don’t know if you can only talk to us through it briefly?

Louise Matsakis: I think there is a narrative that all of these jobs have left the United States, and when China joined the World Trade Organization in the late century, they went to China. But this is a really simple narrative. The fact is that 20 years ago, many of the products we are currently talking about now, makeup sponges, iPhones, small electronics, Stanley insulation cups that I am now looking for on my desk, these products were not literally. These supply chains do not appear to be moved from the United States to China, which is completely made of land in China. This includes things like machinery. How can you do the injection mold to get this plastic cup out of the mold? These devices have been built, designed, manufactured and maintained since their invention in China. It is really difficult to transfer the entire supply chain to the United States. In China, the government has fully organized itself in support of this type of company. Where, in the United States, we just have none of these infrastructure in place, whether even the most basic. Roads, ports, land available for giant factories, talent pipelines. We don’t have a high school that you can go here to become a clothing worker, which is a very common thing in China.