Bryan Mayland
TVWBB Hall of Fame
It's probably hard to keep up with how many protectionist tariffs are being slapped on every country and product these days, but one in particular is going to impact new HeaterMeter builds. Starting on Friday, July 6th, the US will impose a 25% tariff on electronic components manufactured in China. Despite HeaterMeter's BOM sticking with big reputable component brands, they are almost all manufactured in China. I took the July 4th holiday to go down the list and see what sort of effect this is going to have on a build cost
I have to admit I was shocked SHOCKED that there is something made in the USA in that list. I'm not sure all of these items will be covered, because the long tariff list is extremely vague "electronic components". It is unclear if things like the LCD or 5V regulator are components or exempt "assembled goods". The circuit boards from the HeaterMeter store are also made in the USA, although the board material itself can come from China. Advanced Circuits owns a company that makes the board material with plants in Arizona and multiple in China, although they won't say if the US facility uses imported prepreg.
This is the first time I've ever really felt the effects of government legislation impacting my business and I've been spending the past few weeks trying to find the benefit. I'm sure there are thousands of businesses across the country trying to figure out how to adapt to a 25% increase in the material cost of their products. For HeaterMeter, the increase in price might drop sales, which leads to me buying smaller quantities of parts, which means less of a price break, which will increase the price, which could drop sales. Any designs for new HeaterMeter hardware are on hold until we can see if these price increases will make new hardware so expensive that it becomes unfeasible to create in the US.
Anyway, I hope this doesn't come off as sounding political, but it is important to see how this impacts small businesses, hobbyists like us, and the American garage startups we say we're so proud to be the home of. If you've got your Mouser cart full of HeaterMeter parts, might want to finish that sale soon as we're going to see rather large price increases across the board.
Code:
Xicon Resistors Thailand
KOA Speer Resistors Taiwan
Vishay Ceramic Capacitors China
Nichicon Capacitors Malaysia
ABRACON Resonator China
ABRACON Inductor China
STMicroelectronics Diodes China
TDK Buzzer China
ON Semiconductor MOSFETs China
Murata 5V regulator China
Microchip 3.3V regulator ?
CUI Inc. probe jacks China
Kobiconn barrel jack China
Amphenol RJ45 jack China
Atmega microcontroller Taiwan
Delta blower China
Vishay potentiometer Costa Rica (what?!)
Texas Instruments shift register - China
Kingbright LEDs China
Newhaven Display China
AD8495 thermocouple amp Philippines
Thermocouple jack USAI have to admit I was shocked SHOCKED that there is something made in the USA in that list. I'm not sure all of these items will be covered, because the long tariff list is extremely vague "electronic components". It is unclear if things like the LCD or 5V regulator are components or exempt "assembled goods". The circuit boards from the HeaterMeter store are also made in the USA, although the board material itself can come from China. Advanced Circuits owns a company that makes the board material with plants in Arizona and multiple in China, although they won't say if the US facility uses imported prepreg.
This is the first time I've ever really felt the effects of government legislation impacting my business and I've been spending the past few weeks trying to find the benefit. I'm sure there are thousands of businesses across the country trying to figure out how to adapt to a 25% increase in the material cost of their products. For HeaterMeter, the increase in price might drop sales, which leads to me buying smaller quantities of parts, which means less of a price break, which will increase the price, which could drop sales. Any designs for new HeaterMeter hardware are on hold until we can see if these price increases will make new hardware so expensive that it becomes unfeasible to create in the US.
Anyway, I hope this doesn't come off as sounding political, but it is important to see how this impacts small businesses, hobbyists like us, and the American garage startups we say we're so proud to be the home of. If you've got your Mouser cart full of HeaterMeter parts, might want to finish that sale soon as we're going to see rather large price increases across the board.
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