Billionaire Cuban: "Stock Up on Everything"
"Tariffs Likely to Raise Consumer Prices"
Americans are rushing to stockpile goods after news spread about U.S. President Donald Trump's extensive tariff imposition policy on imports.
On the 3rd (local time), the daily Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported an article titled "Americans are flocking to buy TVs, soy sauce, and Lululemon activewear."
The outlet reported that after President Trump announced the tariff policy on imports, Americans have been busy filling their carts with goods.
College student Seda Roch (22) quickly purchased a $244 Lululemon (Canadian brand) activewear set and a $150 House of Sunny (UK brand) sweater on the 2nd while Trump's press conference was playing on the radio. Her boyfriend, Sean McKenzie, bought three 8-packs of Guinness beer, filling the vegetable compartment of their refrigerator.
Roch is majoring in public policy at Southern Methodist University and works part-time in the global trade department of a consulting firm. She said that the tariff news is a hot topic on campus and that she and her friends are "watching the stock market and worrying about the economic situation after graduation." She added, "This is the first time even those who had no interest in politics or economics during their four years of college are talking about such topics."
On the afternoon of the 2nd, billionaire businessman and TV personality Mark Cuban posted on the social networking service BlueSky, urging his followers to stockpile. He emphasized, "Buy anything that can be stored, from toothpaste to soap," and "Buy before stores run out of current inventory and restock." He added, "Even for American-made products, stores will raise prices and blame tariffs."
Some consumers followed Cuban's advice, filling parking lots and pushing carts in supermarkets and electronics stores. Others said they planned to shop daily for the time being.
Noel Fegero (50), a school staff member living in Queens, told WSJ that after hearing about the tariffs, he spent $3,000 (4.3 million won) from the night of the 2nd to the morning of the 3rd on electronics, auto parts, gardening equipment, and other household items. He bought a $217 (about 310,000 won) 40-inch TV from the Chinese brand Hisense at a Best Buy store in Queens, New York City, loaded it into his minivan, and said, "Now is the time to buy."
Fegero said he had visited two other stores in the New York area to buy this product but found no stock. When he called the Queens store, they said only one was left, so he begged them to "please hold it," and barely managed to purchase it.
Jiaming Zhu (39), who immigrated from China to the U.S. 15 years ago when entering graduate school and now works as the CEO of a Chinese pharmaceutical company while raising two children aged 4 and 6, plans to stockpile soy sauce (20 bottles), oyster sauce (10 bottles), and seaweed snacks favored by her children at an Asian food market, in addition to stocking Chinese herbs for her business.
Zhu said, "The amazing thing about America is that every day there is a wide range of choices," adding, "We could buy groceries from all over the world, but now that has to change." Additionally, consumers have been freezing imported agricultural products for stockpiling and rushing to renovate their homes, fearing that the cost of paint will rise due to tariffs.
Regarding this, WSJ noted that while price increases during the COVID-19 period were unexpected for consumers, tariffs are not. Citing economists' forecasts, it stated, "Tariffs are likely to raise consumer prices on many goods, including agricultural products, clothing, electronics, and automobiles."
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