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In Episode #2 of Swarfcast, Today’s Machining World’s podcast, Noah interviewed Miles Free of the PMPA (Precision Machined Products Association). Free is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the steel trade. They discussed how the recently implemented tariffs on raw materials into the United States affect the U.S. precision machining industry.
In the interview Free equated harsh raw material tariffs to economic sanctions on imports that the United States would inflict on an enemy like Russia or Iran.
If you want to learn about Trump’s new tariffs listen to this interview!
This interview was conducted in April, so at times Free will refer to tariffs as a potential threat rather than a current one.
Question: How are tariffs affecting your business?
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2 Comments
Miles Free was lucid and direct. He laid the tariff issues out clearly.
Trump is playing a long overdue game of Chicken with the Chinese. They have decimated American manufacuring but now we are reliant on subsidized Chinese steel in America and it is difficult to quickly extricate ourselves from deals based on low priced steel.
So far so good
Funny no one talks about the 33% VAT tax on every machine to the EU. We cant sell a packaging machine to any European customer because of that tax, yet it gets no press at all. Or the Canadian tax on cheese, which has cost our customers quite a few opportunities. Some of our customers with operations in Poland get around it by buying parts here and shipping them between companies, but any attempt at a direct sale to the plants is always priced too high, or at least competitive until the tax is applied.