This is more by way of editorial musing than anything else, add your own thoughts on the subject!
It has struck me, watching Trump hurling insults and happily initiating trade wars lately, that his recently announced heavy (and extensive) tariffs on Chinese goods may, like most things he does, have unintended consequences -- or at least consequences Trump hasn't foreseen, thought about, or cared about.
In his bull-in-a china-shop manner (pun intended), it seems likely that Trump will deal a serious blow to a lot of U.S. retailers who depend largely upon imports from China (including giants like Walmart). EBay is no exception. I have to wonder whether eBay may soon rue the day it turned its back on the millions of small, independent sellers that used to make up its primary selling base, who would now be an insurance policy against such events. I can't see ca. 25% tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the U.S. as not having a serious impact on eBay's bottom line, especially when the proposed list includes many common household products.
On the other hand, Canadian eBay buyers who purchase directly from Canadian sellers will benefit (assuming our government doesn't follow suit with tariffs on China -- and why would they?). I wonder whether eBay Canadian sellers who source their products in China will still be able to sell them across the border into the U.S. tariff-free?
So ironically, one of the unintended consequences of Trump's "big idea" to get back at China might be to actually bolster Canadian retailers' fortunes. I believe there's a saying for that: "every cloud has a silver lining".
