Scary news for canadians buying bikes
 

As most canadians know we already pay a premium compared to the states for bikes. This has always been an issue but sometimes we can find deals. In all the wisdom of our gov't we have instituted a tarrif system to charge companies building bikes outside the country to make pricing fair. All I see it doing is screwing the lbs's more and the end use more than that.

This is definately sad news. Looks like I am going to have to find cleaner source in the states to buy my bikes and bike parts. I can already barely afford canadian pricing.

For more info.
http://www.nsmb.com/shore_news/tarriffs_09_05.php

We'll start a bike/bike part smuggling business from the states... :D

A common social solution to an economic problem. Doesn't work - but it is common. Sorry for you guys.

We'll bring in Bikes and Smokes, and come back across the border with High-Flush Toilets and Back Bacon.

Steve W.
Who made money when he drove from alaska to the lower 48 buy getting cartons of smokes at the PX before he left, and didn't have a single pack left at the end of the trip. <and he doesn't even smoke> :)

You sell us your prescription drugs, we'll sell you our bikes.

Hmmm...deal. Although we have a sudden influx of low flush toilets...backbacon, no problem...

I didn't know how expensive drugs were down there until I had several friends ask me for helpers. Its insane how much more your drugs are..haha

We complain about American protectionism (softwood lumber) then we go and put up our own trade barriers.

It looks like it will be only the cheaper bikes , FOB price of $225 CAD will sell for about $400 in the shop. Correct me if I am wrong.

Inporting an American made bike shouldn't be affected because it is covered by NAFTA - if that is still in effect.

Question: If China can make cheap bikes, why not Mexico?

The tariff applies only to Bikes sub-$400 coming from China, Taiwan or India.

It does not apply to more expensive bikes or bikes from other locations.

Via an underground tunnel at the border? :D

You should see the elaborate tunnels they dig in from Mexico! With the heavily-wooded regions on the northern border, we can probably hide an entire highway underground!!!

doesn't affect me since it's only the cheap bikes but i really think it will affect the LBSs in a big way since they usually start their relationships with individuals with a cheap bike and as they get hooked they upgrade. this might make a lot of people go straight to department stores for their first bikes.

this is just dumb, these guys can't compete because they make crap and use old outdated technology... give me a break!!

This was brought in because Groupe ProCycle, a privately held company based in Quebec that makes a lot of department store bikes said they were being harmed by the competition. They lobbied privately and the issue didn't even get picked up until it was a done deal.

You should let Procycle know what you think of this http://www.procycle.com/en/default.asp

I reckon if people stopped buying their flagship brand - Rocky Mountain - in protest, they may reconsider.

There was an asertion in the article stating that a chromoly bicycle was of poorer quality than one of Aluminum. Nothing could be further from the truth and I'll take a 4130 frame any day over a cheap alu frame.

As for protectionism, every country has it including China so why can't Canada??

Because we're not China.

I guess you missed the tunnel from Canada into the US a couple of months back.

I've only scratched the surface of international trade/economics in a recent postgrad degree, but generally protecting inefficient local industry is a bad idea for the society whose government implements it. It saves a smallish number of local jobs at the much greater expense of everyone else in the country, and discourages innovation.

One example: The continuing insistence of Malaysia to protect its only domesticly produced car, the Proton. Imported cars are incredibly expensive. As a result, the Proton can get by with being an outdated, unreliable piece of junk. The company has not had to improve its product- without protection, it would have had to either shape up or go bust a decade ago.