New US Tariffs

[LondonPearl]

How do you think the new import tariffs will affect the demand and price of pearls in the USA?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Overall everyone will have less discretionary money to spend on luxuries. For that matter, less to spend on necessities.
It is bound to affect purchases of all kinds, not just pearls.

 

[SteveM]

I guess this post really belongs here.

An increase of 34% on Chinese FW exports will have to be passed along to one degree or another. Fiji sticks out at 32%, J. Hunter seems to be uniquely targeted there, as French Polynesia scrapes by with just the universal 10%. I believe PP is selling from large stocks of J. Hunter pearls already in the US, offering a strong purchase incentive. Japan at 24% is probably the most impacted, given the quantity sold and average invoice price subject to the tariff. And at 46% you can forget Vietnamese Akoya as an economical alternative.

 

[A Breaker]

SteveM... I can understand the FW tariffs as we do make FW pearls in the US.... but do we in the US make any saltwater pearls? Or do I just misunderstand tariffs?

 

[SteveM]

SteveM... I can understand the FW tariffs as we do make FW pearls in the US.... but do we in the US make any saltwater pearls? Or do I just misunderstand tariffs?

Pearls or types of pearls are not targeted, it's strictly perceived trade imbalance and retribution/"reciprocation" for high tariffs on US products (Fiji a good example).

There is no US-grown pearl exporting business per se, although FW culturing does persist on a small scale apparently. The important US bead nuclei business would have served to reduce trade imbalance with those affected pearl-exporting countries that are the primary customers. Indeed on a weight scale it could be argued that we're getting 70%/90% US-made product in return. Maybe Akoya producers should start to declare only the percentage of value represented by the nacre thickness of their pearls!

 

[A Breaker]

Well that is one take on pearl tariffs. I normally participate in another sector of the economy that has current tariff issues and was surprised at pearl tariffs. Bet the case could be made for nacre.

 

[SteveM]

The tariff is on trade value, not pearls per se. I also worked in another sector that has been specifically targeted, European alcohol and wine, which continues under threat of a 200% tariff to shield the US Bourbon industry.

 

[A Breaker]

Thanks... I understand more now. Thanks again!