When David Rashid took over US autoparts maker Plews and Edelmann, the corporate was shedding enterprise to its Chinese language rival, Qingdao Sunsong. Each firms make energy steering hoses, however Sunsong was providing its hoses to retailers at a a lot cheaper price.
Then, in 2018, the Trump administration threw firms like Rashid’s a lifeline, by asserting tariffs on a variety of Chinese language items, together with some autoparts. Rashid thought the tariffs would lastly power Sunsong to lift its costs, however, someway, the corporate by no means did.
It was a thriller. And it led Rashid to tackle a brand new position – novice commerce fraud investigator. How may his competitor, Sunsong, soak up that 25% tax with out altering its costs? And why had all of Sunsong’s steering hoses stopped coming from China and began coming from Thailand?
On in the present day’s episode, the huge gulf between how tariffs work in idea… and the way they really work in apply. And David Rashid’s quest to determine what, if something, he may do about it. It is a quest that can contain worldwide detectives, forensic chemists, and a friendship based on a shared love for hummus.
This episode was hosted by Keith Romer and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Emma Peaslee and edited by Molly Messick. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Ko Takasugi-Czernowin. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money‘s govt producer.
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