Will Tariffs Increase Prices on Parts and Equipment?

I think you will see spikes in some parts. While **** has snuck into most manufacturing, there will also be downward pressure on spending caused by an overall recession. Generally, I think the price of many parts will increase owing more to increased money creation than to tariffs.

Nope...no movement. Mad Dog

This.

Apparently electronics, phones etc are now exempt. Except drones, they aren't.

How can it not?

I'm talking about the millions of dollars that Apple, FB, and other companies "donated" to the last inaugural party.

I think the electronics exemption was just reversed.

Yippee!, No, I mean I'm getting very yippie. Maybe a little sick.

We received increase notifications from the majority of our manufacturers, anywhere between 7-20% (this was before the most recent additional tariffs..) Not one of them issued a statement walking back the increases when there were chances they would see exemptions. Even companies that manufacture their goods domestically announced increases, their cost of living will likely go up so they have to charge more. Most independent wholesalers just stocked up recently so more than likely they are all trying to ride out current stock to see if the tariffs thing blows over, nobody wants to be the first to raise the price to the contractor

edit: looking at my emails a couple did postpone their tariff increases, honeywell for sure did as they said they need to look at all skus to determine the exact increases based on whatever the tariffs end up being

2nd edit: honeywell tariff surcharge just went through effective immediately, and it applies to backordered items

The last time the tariffs were put on, the company I work for did an emergency 5% price increase to cover the increased material costs we incurred. The tariff wasn't high enough to change the buying habits, so we just paid the increased cost and passed it on.

I haven't heard anything about price increases this time, but I'm sure it's coming. I think some time needs to go by and stabilize on what is happening so they know how to handle it.

My brother is building a house and I am installing two ducted Mitsubishi heat pump systems for him. Over the last week the price of the one 2.5 ton system and one 1.5 ton system increased over $4000 on one popular online supplier.

Being a small company has its benefits during times like these. I hated having laying off people

If buyers and importers have other options, they simply get their supplies elsewhere.

there are two problems remaining:

1. Supply from those other sources will be under higher demand, causing shortages and price increases
2. Even with plenty of supply, a domestic vendor will raise their price because they know their price competitor is gone

You simply can’t avoid price increases due to tariffs

If history has a say in how tariffs raise prices, look at what happened somewhere around the 1890s and the 1930s. With tariffs, prices went up. This "helped" to put the U.S. in a mode of isolationism. Imposing tariffs can not be done recklessly. The U.S. betrayed the trust of our trade partners, causing terrible losses.

It's like when you deal with a customer. If you do not have a good, trusting business relationship, things tend to fall apart. And prices can and have gone up, or you lose their business at a cost.

Here is the core of what happened - see LInk above for more info. NOTE: does this 1930's argument to pass Smoot - Hawley sound familiar?? Regards, RTW

The Tariff Act of 1930, also known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, was a protectionist trade measure signed into law in the United States by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. Named after its chief congressional sponsors, Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis C. Hawley, the act raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods in an effort to shield American industries from foreign competition during the onset of the Great Depression, which had started in October 1929.[1]

Hoover signed the bill against the advice of many senior economists, yielding to pressure from his party and business leaders. Intended to bolster domestic employment and manufacturing, the tariffs instead deepened the Depression because the U.S.'s trading partners retaliated with tariffs of their own, leading to U.S. exports and global trade plummeting. Economists and historians widely regard the act as a policy misstep, and it remains a cautionary example of protectionist policy in modern economic debates.[2] It was followed by more liberal trade agreements, such as the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934.

And are doomed to repeat it.

"Que sera', sera' " as the song goes….sung by Doris Day in movie (1956) that still has meaning today

All the Best,

RTW

To quote Long Beach Ed above"

"If buyers and importers have other options, they simply get their supplies elsewhere. Buyers will only absorb so much increase if they have other choices, and they usually do. They go elsewhere, forgo their purchase, or design differently."

My response: here are a few countries to consider as options to get supplies elsewhere:

Does not have tariffs

The US does not have tariffs against Russia and Belarus12. These countries are not on the list of countries targeted by Trump's reciprocal tariffs2.

Regards,

RTW