According to Reuters, roughly 91% of the imported vaping products coming to the United States are made in China. That includes both e-cigarette products and Chinese cannabis oil vape pen products that have become popular here in the United States. A number of medical marijuana states, like Florida, rely heavily on vaporizing technology for their medical marijuana program having decided that smoking marijuana is unhealthy for patients. However, with President Trump’s 25% tariff on Chinese imported goods, the whole vaping industry may become too cost prohibitive for consumers here in the U.S.as it currently stands.
Some experts suggest that the new tariff on Chinese imported goods could raise prices across the vaping industry by as much as 15%. The tariffs began in July on $34 billion worth of imported products from China. Another list of items will see the 25% tariff imposed upon them come August 23rd, which includes chemical items. In total, the United States and China import/export business rounds out to roughly $650 billion each year. In response, China has imposed its own 25% tariff on U.S. imported goods. However, China imports much less from the United States with their tariff being imposed on about $16 billion of U.S. goods versus what will be a total of $50 billion worth of goods from China, so far.
The tariffs’ impacts will be felt by both businesses and consumers around the country, but President Trump feels strongly that this is part of the solution to the United States trade deficit problems. In the meantime, the two largest economies in the world seem to be bantering back and forth, one just trying to outdo the other. Cannabis businesses around the country will be forced to look elsewhere for the vaporizing technology they are selling to their consumers. President Trump’s hope is that these taxes could force more manufacturing here in the United States and therefore also increase job growth over time. Many people, including liberals such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, have been critical of China for stealing intellectual property from the U.S.
China is launching Made in China 2025 which is an attempt to have the massive country transition into a more sophisticated technological industry that would likely be much more profitable than the labor intensive assembly-work production they currently rely upon. Should President trump follow-through on the tariffs and possibly expand them further, it will represent a real challenge for China to execute its new plan. Instead of importing from China, many marijuana businesses here in the United States may simply seek to import their vaping technology from another country, but one way or another they are bound to feel the financial impact and be forced to change their strategy.
A Johns Hopkins study recently discovered toxic metals in e-liquids, the liquid used for e-cigarettes, such as lead, chromium and manganese. The metals were discovered in the liquid shortly after it was used with the vaporizer. It turned out that the electric current generated from the battery would release the metals from the heating coil mechanism of the vaporizers. While no known tests have been conducted on cannabis oil vaporizers, it only stands to reason that the metals may be found in the cannabis oil since the technology for e-cigarettes is essentially the same thing and originates mostly from the same place, China.
