1 week Ago By David Richards
Australian custom installers, retailers and distributors of US products in Australia are set to be hit by the latest Trump tariff move, with components set to be the major problem, also set to be impacted are orders already placed for Black Friday sales and Christmas New Year sales. While goods shipped into Australia directly from China will not attract a tariff the real issue is US goods where the sourcing of components from China a key to a product, with opportunities arising for a switch to none US goods with distributors already being approached by retailers. Brands such as Control 4, Lutron, Crestron and PC manufacturers such as Dell and HP as well as audio brands such as Sonos Harman Kardon, and Klipsch Bowers & Wilkins are US Companies that all source components with many also assembling products in China.
US retailers have already moved to suspend orders and halt shipments as the global supply chain grinds to a near-halt. Trump has announced a 90-day pause before tariffs take effect so that countries can negotiate deals and while this has seen the Australian dollar to come back to The Australian share market roared back today to post its best day in five years after equities on Wall Street took into account Trump’s decision to hit pause on reciprocal tariffs on more than 75 nations including Australia. The Australian dollar rallied, retaking US61¢ But with levies escalating on Chinese exports to 125% and Beijing retaliating to every US move, US brands who sell products in Australia have little idea what strategy to take.
Distributors in Australia that ChannelNews has spoken to claim that if the Australian dollar falls to $0.58 against the US dollar minimum price rises will be 15% with or without tariffs. Online traders such as Amazon have already moved to cancel orders with Chinese Companies with their Australian operation tipped to be impacted due to the Company losing their volume negotiating position with Chinese suppliers.
Dell Technologies is just one that has reduced or eliminated US discounts on many of its computers, due to vacillating tariff issues. Fewer laptop discounts are currently listed on Dell’s online store than at any point since at least the start of 2024, with some specials also removed from desktop computers. Observers are also seeing significant price rises creep into their online products.
Another issue facing Australian retailers is the cancellation of orders by US manufacturers. Due to the latest sharp escalation in tariffs on China, U.S.
orders for Chinese factories are getting cancelled and Chinese manufacturers say they can’t lower prices further for U.S. customers with observers claiming that stock supply into Australia could be hit either through a “lack of availability” or with “price rises”.
Capital Economics estimated on Wednesday that shipments from China to the U.S. could drop by more than half in the coming years if the duties remain in place with brands already looking for safe haven or minimum tariff Countries in an effort to reduce the impact on their revenues.
China has retaliated with levies and other measures, recently announcing an 84% blanket tariff on all U.S. goods.
Both countries say they won’t back down. Earlier in the year, some Chinese factory owners offered price cuts for US customers to help them manage two 10% tariff hikes that Trump imposed after returning to office. But now, with average U.
S. tariffs so much higher, many say they can’t discount further without operating at a loss. For some the problem is the availability of credit to support the higher costs associated with manufacturing.
Some Chinese factories say they are willing to lose orders from U.S. companies and find buyers elsewhere—or idle production if they have to.
In a bid to protect market share by keeping prices under control, U.S. retailers such as Walmart and Amazon have asked manufacturers to lower the cost of goods made in China by as much as 20 to 30% many have refused due in part to intervention by the Peoples Republic of China’s intervention.
Some buyers have asked Chinese manufacturers to reduce prices by around 20% to 30%, suppliers say. Walmart’s efforts to negotiate lower prices with Chinese suppliers earlier this year caught the attention of authorities in Beijing, who summoned the retailer for a meeting after manufacturers complained. Some economists say it will be difficult for Chinese manufacturers to replace U.
S. customer with increased business from manufacturers in other Countries. Analysts claim that U.
S. brands have limited alternatives to Chinese suppliers and that by Black Friday and the last quarter of 2025 in Australia there could be a problem in the Channel with supply as well as the cost of goods..
