“Made in China” era over says Giant, the world’s biggest bike maker – and blames Donald Trump's trade war

Raleigh only bike shops were one of the wonders of my childhood. Seems strange today but shops were literally a one brand outlet and still sold enough to stay open for years. I guess the American invasion killed Raleigh after MTB and BMX came with the birth of new brands spreading from over the sea. That's what I always find funny about brands like Specialized moaning now, they used to be new kid on the block and then killed off other brands. Round and round it goes. 

Meanwhile, millions of BSO are thrown into the tip in the Western world every year, unloved or left rotting in sheds/garages. Also the propensity for many of the modern day 'sports' cyclist to discard and upgrade every year/two years does have an environmental impact though it can help people like myself who would rather buy a second hand mint condition bike that someone is discarding/doesn't want.

The last time I bought a new whole bike was 1990, I've bought one new KTM framset in 2014 (unused team frame), exactly where it was made I don't know. Most if not all of the bikes are assembled in Austria but the coompany is half owned by an Indian co so the manufacture of the frames there is not surprising. they used to use a lot of Ritchey components which are made in Taiwan (boxes are marked R.O.C.)

It says a lot about how good the British Bicycles were (including many of the lower end ones) that so many of them are not just still surviving but in daily use., it's just a shame that too many of them are taken down the dump when they could so easily be serviced/updated and made usable, I've rescued hundreds over the years and sold/given away hoping that they get another few years of use.

Think we all have a responsibility to really think hard about the eco impact over 'saving'  a few quid when making our bike purchases ad how often we do that. 

I’m no expert on imports from China, but I do have to deal with commodity codes and duties for work. The anti-dumping duty rules require that Chinese companies exporting should declare a proper market value on their invoice. Depending on the company, if they do this, then they are not dumping and not subject to ADD. If they don’t provide a proper invoice, or are not on the long list of companies HMRC have specified, then they are liable.

It is hugely complex, so please don’t rely on my thoughts here if you are intending to import complete bicycles from China - get advice from a specialist.

Bicycle parts are generally subject to much lower rates, which is one reason many companies import the bits, then build them local to the market. 

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/8712003090?currency=EUR&day=19&month=6&year=2019#import

pushthis, Giant are a Taiwanese company, why would they want to build anything in the States?

You seem confused.

"A punch in the gut" is the feeling that workers must have had when all this production was moved to China in the first place.  Also laughing about the "level playing field".  If the playing field was truly level, it wouldn't make sense for so much of the world's manufacturing to be done in one country.  Considering the massive pollution problem China has, and considering that cyclists tend to be more environmentally aware, we should all be cheering this.  

They make huge profits and so do their shareholders. I have no sympathy whatsoever. 

Like most big company’s they are just greedy and shareholder centric.  They can reduce the price of their bikes no problem and still be profitable but they are just another greedy company . 

I know exactly how much profit they make on some of these high end road bikes , it’s ridiculous. 

Same goes for all company’s , they just basically looking for the cheapest labour and  parts. You see perfectly profitable companies move to the Far East just to keep their shareholders happy . It’s pure greed  and these companies  moving  can have a devastating effect on a towns economy when they take their production elsewhere . They don’t care though . So fu (( em . 

They aren't going to re-open the former bicycle factories in Waterloo in Wisconsin, or Nottingham in England, so it ain't exactly a victory for MAGA, or Brexit.

Surprising that a Taiwan based company has anything to do with China at all really.

Most of the world's carbon fibre comes from China. Wonder how that's affecting US aerospace companies. 

Do the tariffs only apply depending on where the end product is made or is a Hungary-made Giant made of Chinese carbon fibre still affected?

They're keeping the factories on just transferring some production, so it sounds like they reckon on reopening them in a post-Trump era. With more diversified production: separate factories for separate markets – what will happen to model availability and quality standards? Will they be allowed (by manufacturers) to diverge further?

Surprised the Americans are importing that many bikes looking at the state of them. Maybe they are eating them?