While the shortage of microchips for automobiles may be one of the most visible examples of supply chain issues limiting the ability of manufacturers to ramp up output, it's not the only one. The Biden administration has ordered a review of all supply chains critical to the US economy in an effort to identify weaknesses and work to remove them going forward.
March 8, 2021As homeowner remodeling projects commonly focus on raising home values, countertop demand will benefit from trends favoring more bathrooms, larger kitchens, and higher value countertop materials to boost ROI.
April 27, 2020Looking at how international trade and supply chains are impacted in a pandemic.
March 4, 2020Freedonia Group analysis of the global major household appliances market shows where challenges are being felt most strongly and the best opportunities for future growth. See the four key areas to watch.
March 2, 2020On May 31, 2018, the US International Trade Commission announced that it had reason to believe the US quartz countertop industry had been materially injured by imported Chinese products being sold at less than fair value. Following this ruling, a series of tariffs were levied against Chinese quartz slab imports, ranging from 311% to 528%. How is this expected to impact the global countertops market going forward?
August 26, 2019The first three rounds of the Trump administration’s trade war with China have included tariffs on a range of power lawn and garden equipment, in addition to engines and other OEM components, replacement parts, and attachment accessories.
October 23, 2018Importers and exporters have long taken advantage of free trade agreements to circumvent tariffs using such methods as transshipments, outsourcing production, and internal supply chain shifts. Increasingly, however, Chinese manufacturers are taking a simpler – if more ethically dubious – approach to avoiding US-imposed tariffs: code misclassification.
October 17, 2018US suppliers of consumer water treatment systems – including water purification systems and water softeners – have not been able to duck the reach of recent tariffs imposed on China.
October 10, 2018The Trump administration’s unapologetic disparagement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has resulted in a replacement agreement, announced October 1. Now known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), has NAFTA changed in anything but name?
October 9, 2018For many Americans who rely on the low-cost housewares and other goods supplied by dollar and discount stores, new tariffs implemented by the US on Chinese imports could spell bad news.
October 3, 2018