Just curious about how this works out. At scale, would either decision make any sort of impact? I know most people, including me, will end up avoiding heavily tariffed products out of personal financial reasons. But in theory, would US residents buying or not buying tariffed products be the larger anti-tariff statement? I feel like the obvious answer is “only buy tariffed products” which is why I chose this community but I’m not entirely certain.

I would like to stress again that I am asking this hypothetically, and specifically and only in the context of political statements regarding tariffs. I am of course aware that no single person will have any impact on their own, and I am similarly aware that almost everyone will be avoiding highly tariffed products for non-political reasons either way.

  • fubo@lemmy.world
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    12 days ago

    As an individual? Don’t worry about it; show up at your local protest on the 19th.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      As an individual, you take your purchasing power and can go to that other country and spend your money on services and consumables there, and not bring any goods back. That would be tariff free.

      • vvilld@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        11 days ago

        Because that’s realistic advice. You have money for be to buy a plane ticket every time I need groceries? Who’s going to fund everyone moving to another country? You got that kind of money? Because I don’t.

        • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          Yes this is realistic advice. Two scenarios you may not have considered:

          1. Vacation - you can still take this advice when you make occasional vacations which frequently required air travel except choose an international destination instead of a domestic one.

          2. Home geography - A whole bunch of people live right on the boarder with another country and can drive or walk across without needing a plane ticket. Just because this may not apply to you doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply to anyone.

          • vvilld@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            11 days ago

            Again, you got that kind of money? I live outside DC, so not close to an international border. In fact, most Americans don’t live somewhere they can travel across the border easily. And with the way the government is denying entry to people with the wrong level of melatonin, I don’t think it’s particularly safe advice to tell people to start crossing the border regularly.

            And most people in the US do not fly for vacations. It’s very expensive to fly, and most of us have cars we can take. I’m planning a family vacation later this year to visit my grandparents ~700 miles away. We priced it out and discovered it’s actually cheaper for us to rent an RV and drive than to fly. Flying, especially internationally for a shopping trip, is an extreme luxury for most of us.

            • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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              11 days ago

              I don’t think we’re communicating with each other. I’m reading your posts and it looks like you’re responding things I never said, some even contradicting things I did say.

              My advice applies to some, and it doesn’t sound like it applies to you. I hope you have a great RV trip. Drive safe!

              • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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                11 days ago

                Your advice is shit for the large majority of people reading. Just stop already.

                • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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                  11 days ago

                  Are you having trouble with reading comprehension? Look what you posted to. I had stopped that conversation.

                  You had to throw your little dig in here though. I was initially concerned, then I saw your post history and see this is just your regular habit. I hope your got your desperately needed dopamine hit.

  • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    Your personal budget is the best reason to avoid heavily tariffed items. But if you really want to make a political statement with your buying habits, the responsible thing would be to research which companies are throwing money at MAGA to encourage tariffs to make their own products cheaper than foreign goods, and avoid buying from those companies. But most people are going to follow straight-line meme-brain logic and go, “Tariffs bad, boycott stuff with tariffs!” as if the tariffs make the seller evil.

  • RBWells@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    I don’t see how buying or not buying is going to hit the guy who is doing this.

    As long as you aren’t buying trump-coins or whatever they are called, or a Tesla.

  • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    Neither. Nobody selling a product is to blame for tariffs on the product, and selling it isn’t a political statement. Shop according to your budget like always. Tariffs might mean you have to do without some of your preferred things for a while, like war rationing did in WWII. Just hang in there, neither tariffs nor MAGA will last forever.

  • General_Effort@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    I don’t think you have the choice. Products that aren’t imported are made with parts that are imported. In fact, there will be products that have several layers of products tariffs in them, for example cars. Parts are made, assembled into bigger parts and ever bigger parts, and may cross the Mexican or Canadian border each time.

    These tariffs are a monumental act of economic self harm. That’s what the stock market is saying. Stocks have (rational) value because you are entitled to a share of future profits. The stock market crashing tells you that the pros expects that a lot of value is not going to be created. Trillions of dollars will not be paid out to stock-owners, and further trillions will not be paid out as wages. The real wealth that is the other side of that money - all these new goods, cars, phones, TVs, dishwashers … - will not exist in the USA.

    So, don’t worry about hitting them in the wallet.

    If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on an American ball sack—for ever.

    Maybe watch out for products from Russia and Belarus, as they are not included in the tariffs. This may start a new era of economic cooperation; putting the US in USSR. Ironically, Russia is still hit hard because of oil taking a nosedive.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    For Americans, it is nearly impossible to escape the tariffs. Either somethig is imported directly, or key ingredients to it are imported. This will be a blood bath.

  • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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    10 days ago

    If you have an option that doesn’t involve giving money to the US government you should probably do that. You’re not going to own them by giving them cash.