Stocking Up for Tariffs.

[harbormaster]

Mark Cuban tweeted that people need to get their stuff before tariffs kick in! Who’s buying what that only comes from outside the country?

[user120312]

I've gone the opposite direction, sitting this volatile period out and not buying anything. I've got about a year's worth of supplies for myself and six months for the cat and am holding off on electronics lab equipment, much of which is made overseas, and choosing to finish other projects instead. I am tracking price trends though, out of curiosity.

My goal this month is to live on 300 bucks, with electricity currently dominating at 120, for everything, well below the poverty level, where I can save the majority of my paltry SS check. In that I still factor in the past goal of eating on five bucks a day, so 150 or so imputed cost for food, even if it is food from stock.

So far, tracking imported items in the consumer items area, very mixed bag. Some prices are holding, some are down, some are up. In the survival food area, stable to down so far. I consider survival food being what most people would not eat daily, like Augason Farms, Mountain House, Nutristore, MRE's, etc.

One glaring exception is eggs, where stock is currently depleted, usually a temporary thing, on whole egg products, but freeze dried scrambled eggs from Mountain House are currently down 19% from 2023 price levels. I don't stock those anymore due to not really caring for the taste/texture, finding Augason Farms whole egg powder to work better for all around use and have a couple year's worth of that in stock. I haven't bought real eggs since 2023, bartering with neighbors for the few I've used.

Looking forward to reading other's experiences.

[MET1]

Sounds like other countries are reconsidering their tariffs on the US. Who'd of thunk it..

[user120312]

What if the media gave a trade war and no one showed up?

[TrappedinCalifornia]

Sounds like other countries are reconsidering their tariffs on the US. Who'd of thunk it..

That doesn't appear to be what the Administration is truly after... Trump trade guru Peter Navarro says Vietnam’s zero-tariff offer ‘means nothing’ because ‘it’s the non-tariff cheating that matters’

Vietnam scrambled to offer no tax on U.S. imports after President Donald Trump hit the country with 46% tariffs, but that move wasn’t enough for Trump trade counselor Peter Navarro, who accused it of “cheating” and increased the expectations for countries targeted by new tariffs...

Navarro said that the alleged “non-tariff cheating” he referred to included letting China route its exports through a country to avoid tariffs, stealing intellectual property, and levying a value-added tax (VAT) on products.

Later, Navarro added that among the many problems the administration sees with its trading partners are export subsidies, currency manipulation, and “phony” technical and safety barriers for U.S. agricultural products...

While Navarro argued that the Trump administration wants to restore “fairness” to global trade, he also seemingly moved the goalposts for negotiating countries by emphasizing “non-tariff barriers” over foreign tariff policies. Eliminating many of these policies, such as VATs, would require major domestic changes in the target countries.

He called Vietnam and other countries’ offer of 0% tariffs on U.S. imports “a small first start.”...

How much is negotiation strategy and how much of it represents what the Administration is truly after...

[twinfin]

My sense is that Trump’s tariff moves are the ultimate prepper move. The gross unfairness in trade has decimated our national self reliance and has gone on for far too long. Free and fair trade will ultimately make our nation much more self reliant when we are making more things here at home and our trade with others is fair and balanced.

As a side note, no one should be buying anything. If you feel the need to run to the store when the latest crisis or rumors of crisis appear, you’re not doing it right. 🇺🇸

[Reno-Kid]

Tariffs will be imposed on subsidiary in USA buying from Foreign parent, but extra cost may be absorbed by subsidiary and no increase in price. We had commodities cost increased in 2005 but no increase to retailers price to consumer, since wholesaler absorbed the increase.

[tacticalcity]

That doesn't appear to be what the Administration is truly after... Trump trade guru Peter Navarro says Vietnam’s zero-tariff offer ‘means nothing’ because ‘it’s the non-tariff cheating that matters’



How much is negotiation strategy and how much of it represents what the Administration is truly after...

They want those countries to open up their markets to us as well as stop charging massive tariffs on the goods we import. What good does it do for the tariffs to be equal if we're not allowed to sell our products? Additionally, products we depend on for National Security need to be produced here, so that adversarial countries like China cannot simply cut us off and starve us of critical goods and materials such as military equipment, food, and medicine. All of which we experienced during the COVID pandemic. Lastly, they want these countries to stop facilitating the criminal activities of groups like the triad and cartels that is killing our citizens.

All seems pretty reasonable to me.

[user120312]

There's also another factor coming into play from the USTR; port fees. Sal did a good episode on that today. Port fees are different from tariffs and apparently upgrades are being implemented to impact those who land cargo on Chinese owned, or built, vessels, as one example.

I'm not stocking up in response to current events but rather following historical methods and practices to maintain good prep, in my case being solid for at least a year without any interaction with the outside world.

Currently the main limitation is adapting lifestyle to available off-grid power production while neighbors appear to be going the other way, upgrading utility services to higher power levels. That reminds me, no substantive increases yet in solar/battery gear I track, the lion's share of which comes from China.

[Big Chudungus]

I already got too much crap, what I need is some free time for all these projects I buy the stuff for but don't do. I guess that is a First World Problem.

What does Mark suggest folks buy?

I'm betting even if made official, Tariffs 98% just wont happen, just like Trump's mass deportations. I'm not even buying Trump has fixed The Border or stopped mass illegal "migration". Just the show of Biden Border Bum Rush no longer being filmed by Alex Jones and friends.

[user120312]

Something I've noticed this spring is the forest delivery drivers are running the exact opposite of the garbage truck, in that they're coming earlier and earlier in the day while the garbage pickup is often a day late now. Given the distance the routes are from their hubs, that tells me package delivery is getting pretty light. I recall one recent Friday getting a wine delivery at about 11:30am and the FedEx driver commented I was his last package of the day.

Few visitors and people staying at their vacation homes along with light package loads tells me people are changing their habits from recent years.

What happens if we have a power outage like that one in Spain today, or another 'pandemic' or other emergency should be informative. Will there be a bum's rush or are people prepared and more stoic? Time will tell.

I am stocking up a bit in one area, electronic components. I have a lot of electronic projects to run across the bench and having parts in stock sure makes things go smoother. I figure fixing and refreshing existing equipment I've had for decades, some back to my childhood interest in electronics, will be a good education and brain exercise in my twilight years.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

Yesterday, I picked up a long-handled fishing net which, to me, was on the expensive side. The price was set at the beginning of the year and, therefore, had nothing to do with the tariffs. The company touts itself as an American company, born in the Rockies. But, a sticker on the net says "Made in China."

I think many would be surprised how much is made offshore these days, even for what most think of as American companies. Unfortunately, it has been an inevitable transition in that, as one company owner I was speaking with noted a decade or so ago, he couldn't find an American company which could produce his patented product at a price point which would allow him to be competitive or even affordable. As I noted earlier, there are 'other things' the Trump Administration is after beyond 'trade equality.'

Inevitably, there will be something akin to 'austerity measures' in this country and, perhaps, that's part of the motivation; i.e., to prepare We the People to do with less and begin making choices in terms of what we prioritize as 'necessary.'

Just like the fishing net for me. Expensive? Definitely. Necessary? It's either that or forego a lot of fishing as I can no longer bend over and hand land everything like I used to. The real issue is whether I can cart it around effectively or if it will even be necessary in that I don't get around as well as I used to.

It's just like the 3 mile 'walk' it takes to push the mower around the front and back yards. I used to do both in a couple of hours. Now, the front yard is done on one day and the back yard often takes two afternoons to complete; typically not in the same week. Did that make my purchase of a new gas powered lawn mower 'necessary' a year and a half ago or was that a preemptive measure due to the (ahem) 'wisdom' of those in Sacramento, not to mention it having been a fraction of the price of a riding lawn mower?

Whatever happens with tariffs, we're all going to do what we feel needs to be done, whether it is learning to live without or paying higher prices or preemptively 'stocking up.'

[user120312]

When the spring grass jumped up a foot in a week a couple weeks ago, the neighbor lady offered me the goats or her riding lawn mower to take it down. I declined, telling her I needed the exercise, so pushed my old Honda around for three afternoons doing the lawn in small sections, carrying the clipping bag over to one side of the property to compost. Good exercise.

I still need to make a driveshaft pin for the self propelled part of the mower but ironically prefer to push it around, something I never would have done in youth. Back then it was all about power equipment. Now, with time short, I spend more of it sweating.

Even if considering the current propaganda to be exaggerated, I am building a bit of stock in dedicated pet food, working on getting that out to a year's worth, mostly for SHTF not tariff driven shortages or increases. So far I haven't seen either in the pet (cat) products I track and buy. I note some of the canned food comes from SE Asia, like Thailand or Malaysia.

I've tried U.S. made food, often at a price premium, but the cat won't eat it. IDK why. I then tested it in soups for myself. Nothing goes to waste when it comes to food.