Daily Archives: 2024-06-06

The US doesn’t make bicycles anymore — here’s how to change that

Source: The Verge - All Posts

Article note: This actually sounds pretty reasonable and not likely to just make bikes more expensive and less accessible. Adjust the tariff structure to make it cheaper to import components than completes to onshore at least part of the process, up regulatory scrutiny on bike imports (good on its own to address sketchy ebikes).
Photo by Mu Yu / Xinhua via Getty Images

Good luck finding a bicycle — an especially an e-bike — made in the US.

It only took 30 years for the US to lose its entire bike manufacturing industry. China dominates global bike manufacturing, with imports accounting for 97 percent of bikes purchased in the US, according to one report. Indeed, China has captured some 86.3 percent of the US bike market. And now tariffs threaten that market.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer sees an opportunity. The 75-year-old Democrat from bike-friendly Portland, Oregon, is introducing a new bill that aims to re-shore domestic bike manufacturing by stealing it back from China while also helping protect electric bikes from high tariffs that could put them out of reach for many Americans.

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