Qwertykeys Halts Keyboard Shipments To US Over Tariff Costs and Confusion (theverge.com) 70
An anonymous reader shares a report: The keyboard company Qwertykeys has temporarily halted all shipments to the United States in response to President Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods going into effect. The company says it's working on ways to mitigate shipping costs and that the tariffs have made it so that "all keyboards from China to the U.S. are now subject to 45% tariffs at full value."
"We are closely watching the progress of the situation and really hope that there is something else we can do other than bumping the price up," the company wrote in a comment on Reddit. Qwertykeys says that its delivery partner, DHL, "now requires prepayment of 50% of the declared product value as a tariff deposit, plus a $21 processing fee per package." That would drastically raise prices for customers in the US, something Qwertykeys says is "unsustainable for both our business and customers."
"We are closely watching the progress of the situation and really hope that there is something else we can do other than bumping the price up," the company wrote in a comment on Reddit. Qwertykeys says that its delivery partner, DHL, "now requires prepayment of 50% of the declared product value as a tariff deposit, plus a $21 processing fee per package." That would drastically raise prices for customers in the US, something Qwertykeys says is "unsustainable for both our business and customers."
Waiting for the US factory to open (Score:4, Insightful)
In seven to ten years
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Re: Waiting for the US factory to open (Score:5, Insightful)
Chinese developers don't have to wait for interminable public hearings and environmental impact statement submittals.
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Chinese developers don't have to wait for interminable public hearings and environmental impact statement submittals.
Translation: Chinese companies abuse and harm their employees with far more freedom in China.
Don’t like the American “bureaucracy” that prevents those abuses? By all means vote for it. Might want to let your kids know about the upcoming changes ahead of time. I don’t see Gen La-Z taking to the 996 work schedule easily.
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Translation: Chinese companies abuse and harm their employees with far more freedom in China.
Google translate could have done a better job even if it was translated into chinese and back to english. No the parent's post has zero to do with employees. Try again.
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You say that like it's a bad thing.
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It took many decades to hollow out American manufacturing.
Re:Waiting for the US factory to open (Score:4)
But it might only take a few weeks to hollow out the American economy.
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Funny, it didn't take seven to ten years when they originally moved the factories to China.
Funny, China doesn't have NIMBY MAGAts that block a factory in their city either.
See how that works?
Know how China avoided the Soybean taxes Trump put in last time?
Shipped it to Viet Nam and Camboda, avoided the taxes, stiffed the American family farmers and bankrupted them. Big Ag bought their land for less than ten cents on the dollar tax value. China won. America lost, but then again, America lost with Trump, Dubbya, Pappy Bush, Reagan, Ford, and Nixon too. GOP/MAGA are suckers for voting against their i
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QwertyKeys had factories in the US that it moved to China?
Unless you mean the factories that make the PCBs, cabling, keyswitches and other components.. in which case those "factories" have been long dead in the US if they ever existed at all. So yeah it did in fact take a long time for China to eat US manufacturing...
=Smidge=
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The chinese factories already existed and had skilled labor. Just a matter of shipping over the tooling. Good luck getting that tooling back, though. So besides building new factories in the US, tooling also has to be made from scratch. We still have the skill to do it and do it well, but it will take care longer to get going. Also some of our best tool and die makers are retiring/dying, and until now not many young people wanted to enter the trade.
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Sounds like you have all the business bits sorted out before hand mr expert.. go out there and get em tiger!
I'm sure you have strong business acument and can get those factories spun up in no time! You'll be a billiionaire askign for tax breaks in no time!
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Well China's manufacturing, especially with plastics, took decades to develop and was mature by the time Cherry moved some of their manufacturing over there.
Also, I think just about any Cherry clone is a better deal, offers a wider ranges of choices, and are less shady company than Cherry AG.
Re:Waiting for the US factory to open (Score:5, Informative)
Standard metal shipping container goes to nearby 3rd party country with no tariffs with source or destination, shipping boxes come out of container and get sent on to end users via DHL or whatever as normal, with a country of origin sticker on the outside claiming to be from 3rd party country. Much quicker and cheaper than setting up a whole factory, and hey, if you can register an entire company whose only physical presense is a PO box (often in a random premise along with hundreds, or even thousands, of other PO box businesses), why not a whole "factory" in a garage or similar?
Sure, it's sketchy as hell like most of those PO box companies, but it's also probably just a matter of time before DOGE turns its attention to whichever US agency might eventually get around to investigating you, at which point that's no longer a problem. Also, there are plenty of garages and China has a lot of neighbours...
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The problem is it becomes more difficult to do in bulk, and now that the $800 limit is scrapped it means every package gets scrutiny at point of entry making the PO box scam harder to run. It used to rely on the fact that small direct sent items are shipped under the radar.
Re:Waiting for the US factory to open (Score:4, Informative)
No, the factory will go to some other low-wage country. Don can't tariff everybody ... can he?
All the respected economic models predict such would hurt the general US economy. David Ricardo's "comparative advantage" principle has proven to work. The idea that it makes it harder to get products during crisis perhaps has some truth, but at great cost.
Under normal circumstances the fewer competitors the worse the deals and worse the choice. Almost everyone will agree on that. Established oligopolies almost always score poorly on consumer surveys.
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Sounds like a perfect opportunity for that keyboard manufacturer in Kentucky to up their game.
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Yeah, I don't think I want a buckling spring keyboard, thanks. But good to know there actually is one in the US, even if they make ancient shit.
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Like I said, up their game and offer more varieties of keyboards.
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And what is wrong with buckling spring keyboards? My Model Ms want to have a word with you. Best damned keyboard every made.
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Too loud. Too much resistance. I'm an MX Brown man myself.
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I'm a Cherry MX Blue kinda guy, personally.
Not a lot of resistance but enough of a click to keep me happy.
I do not work in an office where the click would bug other people. But, it's really not that loud to begin with.
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Why? Their biggest competition just got eliminated.
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Americans don't need mechanical keyboards. We have smartphones, AI, and Sharpies.
Trump is the death of small business (Score:1, Insightful)
Have fun entering the job market again especially since you're probably in your late 40s or early '50s...
The sheer scale of chaos and disaster
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I share your concern about what will happen to US companies (other than mega-corporations) during Trump's presidency.
However, this story is about a foreign company that has ceased shipping to the US because of Trump's tariffs.
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TDS is no longer covered under the ACA?
If Trump's Dementia Syndrome were covered under the ACA, perhaps he could get it treated. Or maybe it's syphilis.
TDS is a thought terminating cliche (Score:2)
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And I don't know how but somehow half of the people on this website will blame Hunter Biden's laptop.
Because half of America would prefer to die than to actually think for themselves. When MAGA says "If you do your own research...." what they are really saying is "FOX/OAN/Joe Rogan/Alex Jones/Charlie Kirk/Ben Shapiro/Steve Bannon" says blah blah blah. "Do your own research" is shorthand for "I'm going to spew propaganda now." There's no use trying to save America. Too many of our own MAGA citizens want it to fail, have voted for it to fail, and are cheering for it's failure.
USA - July 4th, 1776 - January 2
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When MAGA says "If you do your own research...." what they are really saying is "FOX/OAN/Joe Rogan/Alex Jones/Charlie Kirk/Ben Shapiro/Steve Bannon" says blah blah blah. "Do your own research" is shorthand for "I'm going to spew propaganda now."
Fair enough, but I prefer to think "do your own research" means "ignore the experts." You know, the ones who spend their lives becoming experts on the economy, infectious diseases, foreign policy, etc.
There's no use trying to save America. Too many of our own MAGA citizens want it to fail, have voted for it to fail, and are cheering for it's failure.
I think the vast majority of those who voted for Trump either were deceived, or sincerely thought he would be better than Biden/Harris. And I still think America is something worth defending. In the current situation, we need to watch the governing party and quickly point out when they're breaking the law or t
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Not a dictator, yet somehow is able to create dictates that are illegal with the blessing of the legislators. Seems kind of like the same thing at the moment, and it sounds familiar. We've got people on the bottom rung going around saying "I'm just following orders!" as if they were required to enact illegal orders. That sounds kind of familiar too.
Of course, that was always the complaint about the "deep state". They make up this fictious shadowy figure when in reality all the bureaucrats are doing is ma
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It's like how Democrat nominated supreme Court justices will report a pack of bagels at a university they give a speech at as a gift but Clarence Thomas's luxury motor coach and his mom's house paid for by a billionaire don't even make the list.
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One down, 299 to go? (Score:3)
Seriously, there are literally hundreds of Chinese manufacturers selling gaming keyboards on sites like Temu and Aliexpress. Some of them are even of decent quality, and use real mechanical switches instead of a membrane.
If those sellers are still make a profit selling them, I doubt that an additional 10% tariff is suddenly going to cause the market to disappear. Hell, the additional 10% tariff probably isn't even enough to make manufacturing keyboards in the US profitable again. It's going to take much more than that it make the increased US labor costs work out financially.
Re:One down, 299 to go? (Score:5, Informative)
If those sellers are still make a profit selling them, I doubt that an additional 10% tariff is suddenly going to cause the market to disappear. Hell, the additional 10% tariff probably isn't even enough to make manufacturing keyboards in the US profitable again. It's going to take much more than that it make the increased US labor costs work out financially.
What are the profit margins for these keyboard companies? We can get a hint from looking at Logitech financials. Their annual sales are about $4.5 billion, and their after-tax profit is about $0.66 billion. A 10% cut from their sales world result in a 70% drop in profits. That is, it would be absolutely disastrous for Logitech.
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It's not the 10%. It's the elimination of de minimus, which makes that keyboard you ordered on AliExpress go from no tax to 35% tax plus a flat fee, usually $30-60 for brokerage. Not to mention waiting in the giant pile at customs for somebody to get around to clearing it.
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It's not a 10% tariff. If you're buying some thing of Aliexpress you're now subject to a 10% tariff + existing Chinese tariffs on import + taxes + $21 handling fee by the carrier all of which it was previously exempt from.
For low cost items that is definitely crippling.
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Just think of it like a tip.. (Score:4, Funny)
Tip for immigrants (Score:2)
Take some hardware with you instead of money to bribe the border guards.
Is probably cheaper as well.
Coming to an invoice near you... (Score:4, Insightful)
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I think it's pretty clear that we will soon be seeing these tariffs being passed on to the customer.
If they can, they absolutely will, but it's not a foregone conclusion. Raising prices reduce demand, after all. Companies will price their products at the level that will maximize profits. That could force some to accept thinner margins, while others might be able to get away with passing along more than the cost of the tariffs, depending on how consumers react.
Anyone who thought that this administration was going to reduce inflation was sorely delusional.
A disturbing number of people still believe that, despite the evidence of their eyes and ears...
Tariffs on toys are not tragic. (Score:1, Troll)
Tariffs on toys help fund the US government (which grumbling aside will remain generally useful) and can reduce the profit margins of our strategic and ideological enemy the
CCP.
Why is a mere keyboard maker news? They can adapt or die, and neither matters much compared to the greater situation.
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No, tarriffs are just another word for taxes.
Trump is raising taxes so he can lower other taxes. Mainly, offer big tax cut to the billionaire oligarchy, toss a a few scraps your way to tame the proles,and make up for it by raising taxes in other ways. Like tariffs.
Who cares if oil prices go up, you got your $10/week tax cut?
(If you think Canada and Mexico gave up lots - Mexico was renewing an already existing program, Canada already approved the border plan in December. The only thing for Trump was a headli
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The part about low wages in manufacturing is something I don't think people realize.
I live in an average cost of living area (1 cost of living index) in the US, and my friend works at a company that manufacturers scientific instruments.
The people building them make more $30-60k/year, putting it close to Walmart on the low end, and hardly a super high value job at the top (but I think I'd describe the top as enough to live around here comfortably, if one is good about spending).
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Tariffs on toys help fund the US government
And screws everyone except the rich, who pay less taxes than me.
Re: Tariffs on toys are not tragic. (Score:2)
The US is getting pretty lonely. Trump may have overplayed his cards. Sad. The US deserves better.
AI CRAP (Score:1)
> ...US Postal Service’s announcement that it would suspend deliver of packages...
It would suspend "deliver" of packages.
Yeah, like the Verge is suspend deliver of editors who speak ze engrish.
Who? (Score:1)
I'm OK with this (Score:4)
There should be a tariff to equalize environmental and human rights differences between the US and other countries.
If they want to sell to our citizens, then they have to protect their citizens like we protect ours.
No environmental laws? +10% tariff
No 2nd Amendment? +20% tariff
No worker protections? +20% tariff
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You seem to be buying into the Trump idea that other countries pay the tariffs. They don't. *You do.* Now, in the face of this import tax, you might choose to buy an alternative, domestic good, but it will ultimately be at that same price point as the foreign good+tariff. No matter how you cut it, you pay the 10+20+20% more. Tariffs do hurt exporting countries by reducing demand for their good, and they do somewhat encourage local production. But they very much cost you the taxpayer! It's basically ins
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I had to explain this to a senior EE yesterday.
How come China isn't paying these tariffs?
China doesn't pay tariffs, the country who levies the tariffs pays it
What, why?
That's the definition of a tariff
Guess I need to read up on that
*facepalm*
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Somebody on here the other day said don't call it a tariff, call it an import tax. Of course someone else replied "duh, that's what it is."
But the words do matter. That's why tariffs are so popular. Yeah, screw the foreigner! But import tax, well, that's got the t word in it!
And if you actually understand things like, for example, why the US is the world's fourth largest oil exporter and ALSO the world's second largest oil importer, well wait a minute, maybe this isn't such a good idea....
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Tariffs are a protectionist tool. And generally both parties had abandoned that sort of ideology a long time ago, because we make so much more money with free trade. At this point Americans buy a lot of stuff from over seas, even if indirectly, that tariffs are a major disadvantage to them. All the stuff that they like buying cheaply they can't get, and there's no local supplier. Foreign goods aren't cheaper because they're subsidized, they're cheaper because they have cheaper labor and more manufacturin
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...and watch how the rest of the world all of a sudden stops trading with you.
Signature Plastics Forever! (Score:2)
I hate to recommend the evil empire.. (Score:2)
Don;t stop shipping keyboards nade In China to the (Score:2)