Laptop Prices May Increase by 19% Due to New Tariffs

[Tsing]

Electronics are getting more expensive due to the U.S.-China trade war. A report commissioned for the Consumer Technology Association details the latest casualties, which include laptops and tablets. Their U.S. prices are going up by 19 percent.

That would mean a $120 increase for the average laptop ($622) and $50 for the average tablet ($264). The overall cost increase is estimated to be $8.2 billion.

The report also mentions that the prices of video game consoles will go up by 19 percent.

U.S. corporations such as Apple and Microsoft are now considering to move production lines to other Asian countries around China, with Vietnam and South Korea being the most viable options, but this will still require steep investment costs and altered manufacturing timelines. Other countries that could be targeted for production shifts include Taiwan and Mexico.

 

[ccwilder3]

If the tariffs do nothing more than force a lot of the tech companies to leave China, they will have been effective.

 

[Nanobot]

If the tariffs do nothing more than force a lot of the tech companies to leave China, they will have been effective.

As long as you're happy paying higher prices. While I'm not apologetic towards the ways China has been conducting business, I must admit I find myself laughing at these tariffs as some form of punishment to China. The tariffs are a tax to the consumer as no business is just going to keep their prices the same and absorb the added cost of doing business. While I can see some benefit to moving production lines to S. Korea, I'm not so sure that moving them to other SE Asian countries is going to be that much better. China has a lot of power and business relationships already established throughout SE Asia, so it won't be too difficult to put pressure on those countries should they attempt to curry favor with the likes of Apple. Ultimately, this shuffling of where/who produces/assembles the tech we use in the 1st world is nothing more than developed economies competing for the cheapest labor, period.