Name: 中美貿易戰導致進口美國的玩具品質下降？！ (How Tariff Tensions Transformed China's Toy Factories | WSJ)
Uploaded: 2020-01-07T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 5 min 58 s

There are millions of toy microscopes like this one in the U.S.

美國有上百萬個類似這樣的玩具顯微鏡。

Here is our flagship products' assembly line.

這是我們的旗艦產品的組裝線。

This microscope is part of a list of goods that were spared from new tariffs this Christmas as China and the U.S. have agreed to a limited trade deal.

這顯微鏡是今年聖誕節免新關稅的商品清單之一，因為中美已經同意有限度的貿易協議。

But months of trade war have already transformed the way Johnny sees company operates.

但是幾個月的貿易戰已經改變了 Johnny 營運公司的方式。

When the tariff kicks in, the whole cost of the product will be much higher than before.

一旦開始實施關稅，產品的整體成本將會比以前高得多。

For months, Johnny worried that the retail price for one of the higher-end microscopes could go up from $70 to $90.

這幾個月以來， Johnny 一直擔心一台高端顯微鏡的售價可能會從 70 升至 90 美元。

So to keep the price down, he took action to cut production costs.

為了維持低價格，他只好減低成本。

The microscope lens is now made with plastic instead of glass; and what used to be a painted metal base is now white plastic, and the toy has fewer screws.

這顯微鏡現在的鏡頭從玻璃變成塑膠；以前是油漆過的金屬底座，而現在卻是白色的塑膠，而且玩具上的螺絲也變少了。

In other words, American consumers may now buy a lower-quality product for the same price.

也就是說，美國消費者將會以同樣的價格買到品質較低的產品。

The trade war pushes us to be more efficient.

If the tariff kicks in, we can still maintain a certain profit.

如果真的實施關稅，我們仍然可以維持一定的利潤。

And if the tariff doesn't kick in, we will have more margins.

而如果關稅沒有實施的話，我們也就會有更多利潤。

Johnny's company is one of thousands of factories in Southern China manufacturing toys that are exported to the U.S.

Johnny 的玩具廠是中國南方中數千家工廠之一，這些玩具是出口到美國。

We traveled to China's toy capital just days before the U.S. and China announced a limited trade deal to understand the impact of a trade war on local manufacturers.

就在美國和中國宣布一項有限度貿易協議的幾天前，我們到中國的玩具之都以了解貿易戰對當地製造商的影響。

American toy makers and retailers come here to either buy ready-made toys in bulk or get custom-design toys produced then shipped to the U.S.

美國玩具製造商和零售商在這裡會大量購買現成的玩具，或是生產客製設計的玩具，然後運往美國。

Tony Chen connects American toy companies to Chinese manufacturers.

Tony Chen 把美國玩具公司與中國製造商建立起關係。

My favorite toys are electronic toys like drones with cameras.

我最喜歡的是電動玩具像是空拍機。

Anything has more electronics, make it cool, I like it.

任何電子類的東西都看起來很酷，我喜歡。

He says some of his biggest customers are U.S.-based Amazon toy sellers.

他表示最大的客戶來源是美國 Amazon 的玩具銷售商。

He says business has been strong in the past few years.

他說過去幾年的生意都非常好。

But when trade tensions rose, the mood amongst Chinese manufacturers shifted.

不過一旦貿易緊張局勢加劇時，中國製造商的心情發生了變化。

When the news come, they're not sure what would come to us.

當新聞報導時，他們也不確定會發生什麼事情。

So, most of them is watching, is waiting and waiting to see their customer reaction.

大部分的都在觀察並且等待，觀望客戶的反應。

Hasbro said retailers canceled direct orders of toys from China, so the company had to import and pay for shipping and warehousing the toys, while Mattel's CEO said during an earnings call that the company could raise prices to minimize the impact of tariffs.

孩之寶公司 (Hasbro) 表示零售商已取消直接從中國直接訂購的玩具，因此該公司不得不進口並支付運輸和倉儲這些玩具的費用；而美泰 (Mattel) 的執行長在財報電話會議上表示，該公司可以提高價格以把關稅的影響降到最低。

Tony said some of his clients increased their orders and have been stockpiling toys in advance of any tariff increases.

Tony 說他的一些客戶在關稅提高之前就增加訂單並先囤積玩具。

This particular strategy kept manufactures in toy city very busy ahead of the Christmas season.

這種策略使這個玩具之都的製造商在聖誕節前都變得非常繁忙。

One people need to do three people's work.

For instance, Hasbro pointed to trade tensions with China for its tumbling share price.

例如孩之寶指出因與中國的貿易緊張局勢而股價暴跌。

We reached out to Hasbro and Mattel, but they didn't respond to our questions for this story.

我們聯繫了孩之寶和美泰，但他們沒有回答我們關於這個問題。

The U.S. final consumer, they hope to get a good quality and a good price.

美國的消費者都希望可以以最低的價格買到最優良的品質。

The trade war will stop them to get that.

With Chinese manufacturers supplying about 85 percent of all toys sold in the U.S, some U.S. retailers say they expect their suppliers to find ways to keep prices as low as possible, so pressure's on manufacturers like Johnny.

中國製造商出口的玩具佔了在美國玩具市場的的約 85 %，有一些美國零售商表示希望供應商找到維持低價格的方法，因此為 Johnny 這樣的製造商帶來了壓力。

We definitely do not want to raise the prices.

We design and produce the whole microscope ourselves.

不過整個顯微鏡是自家設計和生產。

We can make some minor adjustment and make it more efficient.

我們可以自行作出輕微的調整以提高效率。

Besides using cheaper components to build each microscope.

而且使用了較便宜的零件來組裝。

The company reduced the number of accessories and the size of the packaging.

這公司減少了配件的數量以及縮減包裝的大小。

The result: Eastcolight now has a wider range of microscopes than before.

而結果是：Eastcolight 現在的擁有顯微鏡比以前更廣泛。

Small and big, orange and blue, ones that look very futuristic, some with a lot of functions, and others with just the bare minimum.

大的、小的，橘的、藍的，看起來很有未來感的，多功能的或是只有最基本的功能。

The idea is that in the event of future tariff hikes, Johnny can now sell different models depending on the amount of any new tax so that the price would always stay the same.

這個方法是以防將來關稅提高，Johnny 現在可以根據任何新稅額出售不同的型號，以便維持價格。

If the tariff kicks in, we're ready for the changes.

如果將來關稅提高，我們已經準備好了。

We can reduce the price around 5 to 10 percent.

我們可以把價格降低 5% 到 10%。

As trade tensions are running high, Johnny also took another extreme measure.

隨著貿易緊張局勢加劇，Johnny 甚至採取了另一項極端的措施。

He invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to install 90 robots and automate the factory.

他投資了數十萬美元，安裝了 90 個機器人使工廠走進自動化。

We used to have 1,000 employees, and right now we only need 300 because we use robotic arms to replace more than half of the employees.

我們以前有 1,000 名員工，而現在只需要 300 名，因為我們有了機械手臂以取代超過一半的員工。

Johnny's strategy is also to seek new customers.

His company is now planning to sell toys once created for American kids to Chinese children, a brand new market for his company with potentially millions of customers.

他的公司現在計劃把曾經是為美國孩子生產的玩具轉出售予中國孩子，這對他的公司來說是一個全新的市場，潛在客戶是數以百萬計。

They used to have a one-child policy and now they can have two kids, so we're expecting the market will be a lot greater than before.

因為以前是「一孩政策」，而現在他們可以有兩個孩子，所以我們預計市場將比以前還大。

It's still early to know if the U.S. and China will reach a comprehensive deal that will put an end to their trade dispute.

美國和中國是否能達成一項詳盡的協議以結束貿易爭端還言之過早。

For now, their limited trade deal rolls back existing tariffs and cancels new ones that would have directly hit China's toy-making hub.

目前他們的有限度貿易協議將取消現有的關稅，並取消新關稅以防可能直接打擊中國玩具製造樞紐。

It's good news for Chinese manufacturers who say their exports to the U.S. had taken a hit, all while the economy at home cools.

對於中國製造商來說是個好消息，他們表示儘管國內經濟降溫，但對美國的出口卻受到了打擊。

For some, the trade war has turned out to be a motivation to innovate.

對某部分的來說，貿易戰是創新的動力。

In the U.S., the price of these toys likely won't change too much, but the way they look and feel when kids take them out of the box just won't be the same.

在美國，這些玩具的價格也許不會有太大變化，但是當孩子拆開包裝會發現玩具的外觀和手感就不再是一樣的了。

There are always improvement we can make.