Trump’s Victory And the 12 Volt Market

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Trump’s stunning victory over democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could lead to many shifts in business, including our own car audio industry.

We spoke to the leaders of several car audio companies today, some of whom were elated at a President Trump and others who were disappointed and wary.

You may remember that Trump has stated he would put a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports on his first day in office, if China doesn’t amend its trade policies.

One car stereo company said he had already received word from a Chinese supplier that it was offering a more favorable contract, given Trump’s tough stance on trade.

By one estimate 80 percent of car audio parts are sourced in Asia.

A 45 percent tariff could translate to a hefty increase in the cost of car audio products to the consumer.  But if China cooperates and allows the sale of more US goods in China, then the tariff could be avoided, under Trump’s plan.

Glenn McCarthy of CE Global Pro (who was recently Business Development Manager at Cadence) said, “I think what people misunderstand is they think because he’s elected, he’s just going to raise the price of products coming in.  He’s going to negotiate that the products going out need to be on the same level as the products going in.”   He added, “The Chinese aren’t stupid, they are not going to want to lose the gravy train of goods coming in to the US, so they will lower the tariffs for our products in their country.”

On the other hand, Trump’s presidency causes uncertainty on the development of future products such as aftermarket vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communications.

Jeff Varick, President of Brandmotion said, “I’m very interested in his position on V2V and all the investment the Obama administration has been making.  There’s a lot of money going into the future transportation bill….so there’s a concern now.”

Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association said:

“We congratulate President-elect Trump and are optimistic that major policies supporting innovation, infrastructure and the economy can go forward. Technology and innovation are major drivers of the U.S. economy and provide hope for the future by creating jobs, leading our nation’s competitiveness and providing solutions to global challenges.

“As President-elect Trump begins work on his economic agenda, we encourage his administration to embrace the Technology Sector Presidential Platform put forward by the technology community. This agenda will help the president-elect pursue our shared goals of stimulating job creation, economic growth and innovation in the U.S.

“Additionally, the continued Republican majority in the Senate presents an opportunity for Congress to rollback unnecessary rules, tackle high-skilled immigration reform, reduce patent troll extortion, lower corporate taxes and reduce spending.

“We congratulate President-elect Trump and the newly-elected Congress and look forward to working closely with his administration to ensure the United States remains the world’s leader in innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Automotive News reported here on Trump’s possible effect on the automotive industry.

 

Photo via New York Times

 

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5 Comments

  1. The jobs left mostly because we as a country wanted everything bigger, better, faster but mostly CHEAPER!!!! While at the same time we wanted top dollar for our labor to build said products. With that being said something had to give, we don’t want to pay for stuff anymore, can’t have your cake and eat it too at least not anymore. The perceived value is no longer there anymore with this race to zero. We used to take pride in the stuff we built and didn’t mind paying for it because it had value but somewhere along the lines that eroded as did the price points yet we still wanted all the latest this and that but wanted it cheaper and a happy medium was never established. Manufacturers needed to keep up with demand and meet a price point and the only way to do it was to find a way to produce said product cheaper and so began the exodus to countries with slave labor….

  2. On the whole shot…we don’t build sh#t. We may assemble products here, but we certainly do not manufacture all the parts. Our government, in allowing all the major Electronics manufacturers (and other large manufacturers) to off-shore all our jobs to begin with, is responsible for untold ruined lives. Here’s some basic, simple reasoning: If you remove all the jobs, there will be no one to purchase our products. There are only so many (necessary) professional jobs to go around, so we can’t just keep saying to people “get a better job!”. Here we are 40+ years down the road and it’s only getting harder to tread water. Get used to flat, declining or non-existent sales as we continue to perpetually eat our own tails.

  3. I’m so glad we build our products in the USA. These things will work themselves out, don’t listen to rhetoric.

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