Totallyrad

So I go down to my local Solid Deal tire store today to buy new tires for the skidsteer. I had checked a couple months ago and they were $130 each but cash was short. Today they had increased to $139 with another increase projected for May. The manager wrote up the tires and handed the ticket to the secretary to run my card. She pointed out that he had forgot something..................the import tariff. WHAT??? According to them, and Solid Deal, the federal government has imposed a 32% tariff on all pneumatic tires not manufactured in the US. At this time, Solid Deal has elected to only pass on 8.6% of this tariff to their customers. For me this meant an increase of $47.85 over the base price of the tires. As I said, this information was presented to me by the manager of the local store and came from their corporate headquarters. I did a quick search but couldn't find anything to confirm this. And yes, I still bought the tires. I didn't tell them to remove the tariff or I'd walk out, shop elsewhere or threaten anything. I purchased a set of these tires a little over 4 years ago. They currently have 1420 hours on them and they're still producing. I had previously worn out 2 sets of heavy duty skidsteer tires with the R4 tread design. The life expectancy of those were 320 hours per set. At that time they cost $595 out the door, the Solid Deal's were $650 out the door. I figure the extra $150 was money well spent since they have lasted 4.5 times longer for just $150 more. And just because I asked nicely, if I foam fill the tires, he'll discount the foam to cover the tariff since he felt bad about not telling me until after we sealed the deal.

MikeyB

I found this.
http://ia.ita.doc.gov/download/facts...lim-020608.pdf

MikeyB

Totallyrad

That's interesting MickyB.

w.tx iceman

Is there anything you can't find? I dub you DTR information specialist.

RickG

No sympathy here . There is nothing on Google showing a tariff mandated on import tires , only an investigation of dumping of CHINESE tires . You avoid U.S. products to buy cheap and support a manufacturer from China - a country that poisoned our pets , sold our children toys tainted with lead , and regularly recruits spies to steal our military and industrial secrets . One reason for our high diesel prices is expansion of manufacturing in China and higher demand for diesel fuel there .

Totallyrad

For the record, if you'll reread my original post, I didn't buy these tires because they are cheap, I buy them because they're a quality product. Currently, they have lasted four and a half times longer than any other tire I have tried in this application. That's a savings of $2677.50 at the very minimum. On my previous machine, Firestone was the manufacturer of choice for me but sad to say they don't offer a tire that wears nearly as well as these. I didn't complain about the tariff, I was just surprised by it and if it helps level the playing field so be it.

chaikwa

While you're at it, why don't you blame them for global warming and the destruction of the Amazon rain forest too? The Chinese have a market for thier products because they were/are smart enough to keep operational expenses to a minimum. We, on the other hand, will pay an assembly worker upwards of $35/hour. I guess that would be one reason the same tire T-Rad bought for $139 would cost $263 in an American brand, (I just priced out the same size for my loader). And even at that, it probably wouldn't have been actually MADE here. My last set of Firestone loader tires had 'Made in Brazil' stamped right on 'em.

chaikwa.

Chrisreyn

I see a padlock coming on this ASAP.... needs to go to the sister site

chaikwa

I have bolt cutters and I'm in a cruddy mood!

chaikwa.

Totallyrad

I'm not looking for a political debate. I was just surprised by the tariff because I hadn't heard any chatter about it coming, that's all. I just thought I'd pass the information along.

irocpractice

One of the other things you have not heard about...there is now a 60 % tariff on imported Chinese hangers.Your local drycleaner paid 19.00 a case in 2000 us made. Today those hangers are 36.00 a case Chinese made.Go figure.

mcoleman

Read that sheet and you'll see who you can blame for the tariff. Goes back to the 35.00 an hour business along with NAFTA. I don't like it any better than anyone else but I know what we can make my companies product for in our China plant compared to our US plants and the US cannot compete in the world market with our labor payscale. Another Missouri business ( Modine hvac supplies )just closed down due to the same issue. Their global production is much cheaper than the US production. We are turning into the service nation the so called conspiracy people warned about years ago. We are going to be the vacation and shopping destination for the European world. You want fries with that? Not to mention what laws the Enviromental lobbiest have gotten congress to pass which makes it increasingly difficult for manufacturers in the US.

03 ant a hemi

I feel little sympathy for Americans as a whole when it comes to paying higher prices for products. (how ever I do feel for individuals like in this story who get side swiped with extra costs after fact)

As a Canadian the NAFTA agreement has benifitted one Component of the agreement, The US.
Here in Canada we log, we process those logs, we drill for oil and gas, we also process the oil and gas, we fish and process the fish, we farm and we process the products, we manufacture just as the same companys do in the US.
Yet under free trade we were suppose to be able to provide these products and service in a two way with out penalty agreement. What happened? Greed.

What will continue to happen and I hate to see it happen is other countries outside of North America have jumped on the bandwagon and trying to cut out the middle man (North Americans) in the production of raw products into finished ones.

We have to blame ourselves, we had a great agreement between three major countries Canada, United States and Mexico. Between the three could have provided good quailty services amongst ourselves and remaind competitive on the global market. Yet one component with in that agreement cause dit to go awry. The United States.

If you dont believe me come up to Canada and see the results of Free Trade on our economy, see how it has affected loggers, fishermen etc.

I heard lots in the early 90's about how great it was going to be for all of us. Then I here of import taxes and such imposed by the US on Canadian products such as wood and fish, yet when Canada tried to tax similar goods there was a uproar south of the border to which our side caved because of the written agreement.

You the people of the United States have a right and responsibility to stand behind what you agreed to in principle with Canada and Mexcio. To uphold the terms of the agreement. Ensure that future generations can benifit from a strong North American Market. Not a dependant on a foreign overseas one. such as we are working into now.

Canada due to the bad trade practices has been forced to look eleswhere over the past few years for a new market for some of it's products that we have been trading with the US for decades. Those same products are the ones we now sell to China and you end up buying. Not because you have the choice to buy them, but because you have to buy them. Your economy depends on outside sources for it's raw materials and it's finished products.

When your country as a whole shut out the very people who agree to a fair trade you end up paying for it in the end.

Although it is our goverment who deciedes who and how we trade with, it is the indivudual worker who suffers the most with the end result.

I am not trying to cause a politicle argument here, just calling it as I see it.
The downward turning of the North Americain market as whole is a result of agreements gone bad and the investment in foreign markets by our goverments.