54% China tariff

[Rob Levine]

Wondering how Phantom Pilots feels about paying an extra 54% on DJI drones when purchased in the US? I know political speech isn't allowed here - but is this political? Someone arbitrarily raising prices on the drones we use by more than half?

 

[msinger]

I think it only starts to get political when people post things like this that haven’t actually happened. Are you saying a 54% tariff automatically means prices will go up by 54%? If so, I’m not sure that’s accurate, and whoever told you that might have their own agenda.

Besides, if DJI raised the prices of all their drones by 54%, we both know what would likely happen. Most people would stop buying them.

 

[Rob Levine]

Nobody told me that. There is already a 20% tariff - so I assume that is built into present price models. Now there will be an additional 34% starting April 9 (see Wall Street Journal if you don't believe me). You're a vendor so you might know - isn't this gonna be a price increase of another 34%?

 

[msinger]

You're a vendor so you might know

I'm only a "vendor" on this forum. I don't sell DJI drones.

There is already a 20% tariff - so I assume that is built into present price models. Now there will be an additional 34% starting April 9 (see Wall Street Journal if you don't believe me).

I think a bit more context would be helpful here. Are you saying that DJI has already increased their prices by 20% in the US? If so, could you share your sources? I haven’t seen any price increases myself.

Ah, the Wall Street Journal. I’m not sure what you read, but if this is the conclusion you came to, it sounds like there might be some underlying agendas at play.

 

[smuellersd1]

This is just one more life challenge like when gas prices spiked in the 70’s or recent egg prices. You just adjust, if needed, to doing something else as an affordable substitute.

In time technology/competition will drive prices down.

 

[Rob Levine]

No I'm not saying that. I'm trying to get a fix on how these tariffs work. I just spoke to a guy at Florida Drone Supply and he seemed to think that the 20% tariff comes on top of the stated price, and that the additional 34% announced yesterday would be on top of that, but he wasn't sure. He was sure that the agitation in Washington against DJI is making it very difficult to even get product. He mentioned the Matrice 4 as being particularly difficult to get.

 

[Rob Levine]

I'm only a "vendor" on this forum. I don't sell DJI drones.



I think a bit more context would be helpful here. Are you saying that DJI has already increased their prices by 20% in the US? If so, could you share your sources? I haven’t seen any price increases myself.

Ah, the Wall Street Journal. I’m not sure what you read, but if this is the conclusion you came to, it sounds like there might be some underlying agendas at play.

Feels like I'm getting some hostility from you. Why is that? I'm asking questions that I'm sure many DJI fans/pilots are curious about. Oh - and quit putting words in my mouth.

 

[msinger]

Feels like I'm getting some hostility from you. Why is that?

Not at all. I'm simply pointing out that the Wall Street Journal may have a hidden agenda if they're claiming that DJI plans to raise prices by 54%. From what I could find, the previous 20% tariff had no impact on DJI's pricing (as of today anyhow).

Oh - and quit putting words in my mouth.

My apologies. I was just trying to ask for a bit more context. Could you share the direct links to the content so we can read it ourselves?

 

[Rob Levine]

No problem. I'm just lusting after an M4P and wondering if I'm gonna be able to get one and how much it will cost

 

[msinger]

I'm just lusting after an M4P

Same!

So, I suppose the real question is how do DJI, Florida Drone Supply, and others plan to handle this new business expense? Because that’s exactly what it will be for them. I’m not sure any news outlet will be able to uncover the specific strategies each company has in place to manage it.

Will they pass it on? Will they share it? Will they absorb the entire cost? I don't think anybody really knows at this point.

 

[Rob Levine]

DroneXL says they expect DJI to pass the cost directly to the consumer, raising the price of the base M4P to just over 3k

Trump's New Tariffs Set To Increase DJI Drone Prices By 34%

The Trump administration's latest round of 34% tariffs on Chinese goods will significantly impact DJI's products, including the DJI Mavic 4 Pro drone.

dronexl.co

 

[msinger]

DroneXL says they expect DJI to pass the cost directly to the consumer

It looks like they took a table of the leaked Mavic 4 Pro prices and simply added 34% using a calculator. It doesn’t seem like they’re claiming DJI will actually raise prices by that amount, nor do they appear to have any insider knowledge.

Then they go on to say:
"the most likely outcome remains full cost transfer to US consumers, according to industry experts"

Again, no details or sources to support that claim.

That said, DroneXL tends to post a lot of clickbait stories. I’m probably stating the obvious.

 

[Harleydude]

Your original assertion lacks critical thinking and is lousy with speculation. Even the most dismal observer can see that these tariffs are a tool. I'll cite Mexico and Canada as great examples of this.

At what point do people finally give up on trying to predict what the president is GOING to do or what is GOING to happen?? How many times do you have to be wrong before you rethink that strategy? How is it even remotely possible to forget that this is not the president's first rodeo. He WAS president from 2016-2020. You can Google it if you don't believe me.

D

 

[msinger]

Even the most dismal observer can see that these tariffs are a tool

It seems that it's not so obvious as a lot of people think they will be in place until the end of time. Many are completely reliant on mainstream news sources to tell them what to believe.

 

[Harleydude]

It seems that it's not so obvious as a lot of people think they will be in place until the end of time. Many are completely reliant on mainstream news sources to tell them what to believe.

Word.

D

 

[Rob Levine]

Your original assertion lacks critical thinking and is lousy with speculation. Even the most dismal observer can see that these tariffs are a tool. I'll cite Mexico and Canada as great examples of this.

At what point do people finally give up on trying to predict what the president is GOING to do or what is GOING to happen?? How many times do you have to be wrong before you rethink that strategy? How is it even remotely possible to forget that this is not the president's first rodeo. He WAS president from 2016-2020. You can Google it if you don't believe me.

D

Well in the event we'll see who was right. BTW - I wasn't making any assertion - as I said above - I'm trying to figure out - using evidence and logic - when and if I'll be able to buy an MP4, and how much it will cost. We know an additional 34% tariff will be added three days from now. This is on top of an already 20% tariff. It seems illogical to think this cost won't be passed on to the end consumer - after all -it's the consumer who actually pays the sales tax.

Although I must add I've seen some speculation that DJI will not pass this entire sales tax on to US consumers, and might raise prices globally to offset that. So it remains to be seen what will happen.

 

[Rob Levine]

Well in the event we'll see who was right. BTW - I wasn't making any assertion - as I said above - I'm trying to figure out - using evidence and logic - when and if I'll be able to buy an MP4, and how much it will cost. We know an additional 34% tariff will be added three days from now. This is on top of an already 20% tariff. It seems illogical to think this cost won't be passed on to the end consumer - after all -it's the consumer who actually pays the sales tax.

Although I must add I've seen some speculation that DJI will not pass this entire sales tax on to US consumers, and might raise prices globally to offset that. So it remains to be seen what will happen.

and as far as people having to try to figure out WHAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE US IS GOING TO DO - I don't see that as the virtue that you apparently do.

 

[msinger]

Although I must add I've seen some speculation that DJI will not pass this entire sales tax on to US consumers, and might raise prices globally to offset that

Was that suggesting they might increase the cost for all (or certain) other countries to offset that loss? If so, I suppose that could be one strategy, but it would likely only work if the US were one of the smallest markets.

and as far as people having to try to figure out WHAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE US IS GOING TO DO - I don't see that as the virtue that you apparently do.

I doubt you'll find anyone who sees that as a virtue. It's more of a fact of life or simply part of the game.

Still, it’s refreshing to have a president who is more transparent and actually speaks directly to the people. In the past, we've allowed presidents to only communicate through scripted speeches or teleprompters, and let teams of people craft all public-facing written messages.

 

[Harleydude]

Well in the event we'll see who was right. BTW - I wasn't making any assertion - as I said above - I'm trying to figure out - using evidence and logic - when and if I'll be able to buy an MP4, and how much it will cost.

My mistake. This looked like speculation to me:

We know an additional 34% tariff will be added three days from now. This is on top of an already 20% tariff. It seems illogical to think this cost won't be passed on to the end consumer - after all -it's the consumer who actually pays the sales tax.

OR....like Canada and Mexico, China will acquiesce to the president's demands that China lowers its tariffs and other trade barriers. The U.S. is China's (and, ergo, DJI's) biggest customer. Trade-wise, they have been "ripping us off" for decades. Either they change THIER tariff policies or U.S. drone manufacturers become the new norm.

Although I must add I've seen some speculation that DJI will not pass this entire sales tax on to US consumers, and might raise prices globally to offset that. So it remains to be seen what will happen.

OR...China folds like a cheap tent and tariffs go away completely. OR...they don't fold and we all start flying Autel drones as Autel works their way toward become the new world-dominant drone company.

Critical thinking demands that we look at ALL possibilities. Not just the easy ones or the ones heard in legacy news. That we think beyond the easy-to-find data and dig deeper and explore all possibilities. Even Occam's Razor dictates that if a nation is charging us 50% on U.S. products sold in their country, that the solution is to do the same to their products sold in OUR country. This isn't even critical thinking. This is common sense. "Reciprocal" becomes the new word of the day.

D

 

[Meta4]

Trade-wise, they have been "ripping us off" for decades. Either they change THIER tariff policies or U.S. drone manufacturers become the new norm.

You've fallen for misinformation.
Countries aren't "ripping us off" in trade and the tariff policies you've been told about just aren't true.

OR...China folds like a cheap tent and tariffs go away completely. OR...they don't fold and we all start flying Autel drones as Autel works their way toward become the new world-dominant drone company.

Do you have any idea where Autel drones came from?

Critical thinking demands that we look at ALL possibilities. Not just the easy ones or the ones heard in legacy news. That we think beyond the easy-to-find data and dig deeper and explore all possibilities. Even Occam's Razor dictates that if a nation is charging us 50% on U.S. products sold in their country, that the solution is to do the same to their products sold in OUR country. This isn't even critical thinking. This is common sense. "Reciprocal" becomes the new word of the day.

There is so much BS being spread around this issue.
I'm guessing you won't accept this, but if you really want to try critical thinking, here's an alternative to what you've been told.

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