this post was submitted on 03 May 2025
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Should we also boycott companies that basically do what Trump wants by making other nations pay the US tariffs? E.g. in the link you can read about Sony (Japan) and Xbox (Microsoft - US). I know Microsoft is already American, but it is another major manufacturer that is hiking prices globally.

Those are so far few companies, but I read that some clothing brands and even food markets are discussing about this option.

What do you think?

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[โ€“] neatchee@lemmy.world 39 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

IMO you're aiming your ire at the wrong target. This is what happens when major economies apply tarrifs to components used in retail products that ship globally.

They're not doing it to "appease Americans", they're doing it to protect their bottom line. Blame capitalism. Blame "fiduciary responsibility". Blame Trump. But the execs at these companies don't really have a choice here.

It works like this:

  • Tarrifs, if passed only to US consumers, would raise the price of the product by, let's say, 30%
  • A bean counter determined that the loss of revenue from decreased sales in the US with that kind of price hike would be more than the loss of revenue if they spread the cost across the globe.
  • In other words, the math looks something like (US-sales@130% + Global-sales@100%) < (US-sales@115% + Global-sales@115%)
  • Fiduciary responsibility forces leadership to do whatever is best for their bottom line, or they risk being ousted AND sued by shareholders for failing to act in their best interests
  • Now that they know which approach is more profitable, their hands are tied unless they can make a REALLY compelling case why taking a big loss now will create a bigger win later (which is extremely hard to do in this kind of situation)

The whole system fucking sucks. It's grotesque. But that's what's going on here. Not some "oh no don't anger the Americans" politicking.

It's about dollars. It's always about dollars. And multiple countries have literally written laws to force publicly traded companies to maximize dollars for shareholders.

I don't say all this as some argument for buying Xbox/Sony products. I simply want to point out that the problem here is the system itself, because even if Sony or Microsoft were to drop out of the business tomorrow, the next publicly traded company to fill the void would do the exact same thing.

And there are plenty of other problems with privately owned businesses.

Pick your poison ๐Ÿคท

[โ€“] bettertecheu@lemmy.world 39 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You make a great argument for boycotting Sony. If enough people in Europe stop buying their products, that equation will flip and Sony will change course.

[โ€“] iegod@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

A boycott will not be universally supported and the lack of popularity of this move among the customer base is sure to be factored into the price adjustments. Avoid by all means but I'm skeptical of the impact such actions would have.

[โ€“] neatchee@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The loss of your revenue has already been factored into the decision. They know some people will think and act as you do. It's just a question of how many.

Maybe you can get enough people to move the needle, I guess. But I'm pretty sure they have a pretty good grasp on how the silent majority will behave

[โ€“] dieTasse@feddit.org 2 points 3 hours ago

True, but... a) doesn't mean their predictions are accurate and b) even if it was true, you should do the boycott because if the fact that it "doesn't matter" makes you not boycotting its kinda self fulfilling prophecy. Always, and I really mean ALWAYS, wherever there is this kind of "realization" you still have to proceed because otherwise there is no chance for change.

[โ€“] HK65@sopuli.xyz 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Your argument actually supports a boycott. We have to make it more expensive for companies to spread price hikes around than to hit the US exclusively.

[โ€“] neatchee@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

As I said elsewhere, there is no doubt that any attempted 'boycott' has already been factored into their calculations.

If you can shatter their predictions, good on you. But I'm not holding my breath

[โ€“] HK65@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago

Well, to be honest, I've never had an Xbox, and am not planning to ever get one, so I can't participate in the boycott anyway.

I'm just saying that collective action, if it is taken, works every time. That's a big if though.

[โ€“] wirebeads@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 day ago

As a consumer itโ€™s becomes an easy choice for me though. Iโ€™ll choose the company not hurting other economies. Instead of my dollar going to Sony, it goes to a Samsung. If more people do this, Sonys prices will quickly decrease.

But I agree with on the rest of your statement.

[โ€“] kubica@fedia.io 6 points 1 day ago

The overview is nice, but in the end we are trying to balance back what the bean counter said back into the original situation.

[โ€“] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah. I'd bet they are even making some extra money off this adjustment, rather than losing. It's not about Trump, it's about capitalism.