Cheaper Prices Coming Out of China
Due to the tariff wars that have been going on since 2019, some products coming out of certain countries have gotten more expensive. Motorcycle helmets coming out of China were one of those things. Now the tariffs have changed. The Motorcycle Industry Council worked with the USTR and the United States International Trade Commission along with some other agencies to get the tariffs lifted, according to RideApart.
“Tariffs are additional taxes paid by American consumers and businesses, not by China,” said MIC big boss Erik Pritchard. Pritchard’s comments on tariffs are a bit misleading. Tariffs are additional taxes, and that tax does often translate to higher costs for the U.S. end consumer, but it’s not like the tariffs are a tax for the American consumer. It’s a tax on the goods coming in from another country. In this case, China.
Despite his somewhat misleading comment he is more or less right, regular consumers end up footing the bill because those tariffs drive up the costs of those goods. “May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness month, so we are pleased that the USTR has decided to exclude additional taxes on motorcycle helmets,” said Pritchard. “Safety equipment must remain affordable and readily available to all riders.”
Lifting tariffs on these good can be seen both as a good thing and a bad, I’m not going to get into a political argument on tariffs, but I will say that there should be less expensive helmets out there now.