The article discusses how Chinese companies are managing to bypass tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on goods imported into the U.S. by modifying their supply chains and production locations. It highlights the example of Kent International, a South Carolina-based bicycle company, which imports parts from China but assembles bicycles in the U.S. to avoid tariffs. The article points out that Chinese businesses have adapted their strategies to continue serving U.S. markets despite trade barriers, demonstrating their resilience and flexibility.
I’ve been getting all my fishing gear from Ali Express waaaaaay cheaper than Dicks or Bass Pro or what have you so I’ve been stocking up for the coming year at least.
A lot of it is the same exact stuff you’d find Stateside but I don’t have to pay a mark up so Walmart or whoever can pay their shareholders and C-staff. Some of the products, namely fishing line, are better than what I can find here because they’re meant for export to the Japanese market which is apparently more interested in the smaller fish I target anyhow.
Edit: to expand on this, I can get 500m of 6 lbs test (equivalent) coated multicolor (changes colors every 10m so I can see how much line is out) braid for $13. There’s like ONE company with a similar product Stateside and it’s $19 for 150 ft of line. I pair this with filling a little less than half my reel with cheapo monofilament backing and end it with a more expensive but still cheaper than US fluorocarbon leader and I have enough line to fill my spool three to five times over for less than it would cost me to get one spool’s worth of the braided mainline.
The rods and reels are obviously lower quality, but honestly, the difference between my $65 Pflueger reel and my $12 brand-invented-just-for-Ali-Express one is largely that the knob on the Pflueger reel is more comfortable. I looked into getting just a knob from Pflueger but they make that complicated and expensive. I could probably get another reel for the same cost, including shipping.
And the fish don’t care about knock offs or slight defects.
Lures are somewhat expendable anyhow. I can pay $9 for a single Kastmaster spoon or $3.12 for a set of 3, in different colors, with rooster tails that attract the fish better.
I’m mostly targeting bass, trout, pickerel and other sub 15 lbs. lake fish. Maybe if I were targeting bigger fish or surf fishing, it would make more sense to buy quality over quantity. Though I’ve seen some very good looking carp fishing products there which simply aren’t available in America (as carp fishing is just much more popular in China) but I find carp fishing boring.
The tariffs are fucking stupid. Sure, it could make the $9 lure more competitive by upping the cost of the imported ones, but that just leaves me with less money in my pocket. It doesn’t help the consumer.
Or you just don’t buy anything. Which is what a lot of Americans will do, because they don’t have enough money. Because the billionaires have all of it. And so the economy will tank, because “nobody wants to shop anymore.”
100%. This is why I’m stocking up now. Fishing is a good, cheap, fun hobby and if everything is gonna be more expensive, I’d rather prep and spend a little more now and have access to it in the coming years.
The good news is the US government isn’t competent enough to actually enforce the tariffs. So your fishing stuff most likely won’t get much more expensive. They’ll just get labeled “made in the USA” to appease our narcissistic president. Good times.
And it can feed you for the least cost calorically.
Every dollar you spend now is just more dollars not spent at the grocery later.
I mostly do catch and release, but yeah, I usually take one home a week to fry or grill.
I’ve been buying a whole lot of cycling gear on. AliExpress as well, and it’s all been pretty damn good for far less than what I’d pay at home.
Luckily I don’t need to stock up because Trump won’t be assuming office in Sweden
Yeah, he’s starting with Greenland and Panama, so Sweden could be next!