美国国家公共电台 NPR NPR Shopping Cart Economics: How Prices Changed At A Walmart In 1 Year

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

All right. Ever since the trade war between the U.S. and China started last year, economists² have been warning that it is going to hit Americans in the wallet - that we're going to end up paying higher prices for some products. So did that end up happening? Since August 2018, NPR's Alina Selyukh has been tracking prices at a single Walmart in the state of Georgia, and she has this story.

ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE³: Left or right?

CHARLOTTE NORSWORTHY, BYLINE: Let's go right.

SELYUKH: OK.

This was about a year ago. Producer Charlotte Norsworthy and I walked every aisle⁴ of a Walmart in Liberty County, Ga.

Now let's go find some lamps.

NORSWORTHY: Let's do it.

SELYUKH: Our goal was to track how the trade war with China might trickle⁵ down to shoppers at America's biggest retail⁶ store chain.

NORSWORTHY: Shoe laces.

SELYUKH: OK.

NORSWORTHY: Leather.

SELYUKH: How much?

NORSWORTHY: Four dollars.

SELYUKH: Manila folder⁷, Sharpie marker.

NORSWORTHY: Orange juice is right behind you.

SELYUKH: Scott toilet paper.

NORSWORTHY: That's going to be on aisle 23.

SELYUKH: We begin with the first tariffs⁹ the White House imposed last year on imports from China and some from Mexico and Canada. We started tracking prices of about 80 items at this Walmart.

I don't think I've ever spent this much time in a grocery store ever in my life.

NORSWORTHY: No - wait.

SELYUKH: Now it's a year later, and here's what we found. Some prices in our shopping cart climbed significantly, at least in part because of the tariffs. A set of two table lamps by Better Homes and Gardens now costs 10% more. Sylvania light bulbs, fresh garlic and a Stanley screwdriver¹⁰ are more expensive, too. We've also been tracking a girl's bicycle, chosen with the help of an expert.

How old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Six.

SELYUKH: Which of these bikes do you like the most?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: That one.

SELYUKH: This one?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Mm-hmm.

SELYUKH: That bike, made by Kent, is now 6% more expensive. The makers¹¹ of all these items did not comment on our specific products, but some of them confirmed that tariffs have pushed them to raise prices, though overall - and this is a big takeaway - the impact of tariffs proved uneven¹².

Many of the prices did not change; a few actually went down. For example, the two most expensive things we tracked - a Vizio TV and a Hamilton Beach microwave - they are made in China, but they got cheaper. That's because TVs and electronics get cheaper every year. Tariffs are only part of the story. Prices go up and down for lots of reasons - for example, costs of transportation and labor¹³.

But overall, when we looked at the prices inside our tariff⁸-inspired shopping cart, we found that, on average, the change we saw was an increase of more than 3%. That's almost double the current rate of inflation.

EMILY WANG: These things really are pretty complex, and it's very hard to forecast how the prices will change.

SELYUKH: Emily Wang is an economist¹ at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

WANG: Let's say the tariff is $1. It doesn't necessarily mean that if you are purchasing, let's say, a piece of clothing that was, like, $29, now you're going to have to pay 30. It's even possible that it remains¹⁴ $29 or even go below.

SELYUKH: That's because makers and sellers don't like raising prices. They want to get shoppers into stores, not scare them away. And retailers¹⁵, like Walmart, are powerful. They get the final say on the prices that you see. And they're also big. They can spread the new costs around the whole store or absorb them and even pressure the brands and manufacturers to bear more of the burden. Every company that imports anything from China is now making this calculation. Take, for example, makers of pet products, like a dog leash¹⁶ in our NPR basket.

MIKE BOBER: They don't want to have to pass these costs along to pet owners. But unfortunately, it's becoming more and more necessary.

SELYUKH: Mike Bober is the head of the Pet Industry Joint¹⁷ Advisory¹⁸ Council. The plastic, fabric¹⁹ and metal that go into making pets crates²⁰, bowls and collars have been hit by new tariffs.

BOBER: What we're finding is that, really, throughout the entire lifecycle of pet care products, everyone is feeling the pinch on this. And ultimately, prices are going to have to continue to go up.

SELYUKH: In fact, shoppers are only starting to feel tariffs. In the first few waves, the Trump²¹ administration specifically targeted industrial materials and parts rather than consumer products to avoid shocking Americans with price hikes. To the White House, the goal of tariffs is to make Chinese imports more expensive so that American companies move production and jobs back to the U.S. But few companies have actually been able to do that. Many stay put or switch to other foreign countries.

JOEL PRAKKEN: And that's, of course, one of the problems with bilateral²² trade battles, is it's like whack-a-mole. You know? (Laughter).

SELYUKH: Joel Prakken is the chief U.S. economist at IHS market.

PRAKKEN: For example, China and Vietnam both fish in the same waters for the fish that we get from that part of the world, and so Vietnam trade with the U.S. is booming right now.

SELYUKH: This kind of reshuffling has been happening across many products, including clothes, pencils, furniture. In some cases, like with shoes, the vast majority have historically come from China. Now more tariffs are kicking in - this month, next month and in December. By the end of the year, almost everything imported from China - from apple juice to toys to laptops - will all have a new tax. And our shopping cart might get pricier.

Alina Selyukh, NPR News.

NORSWORTHY: Peanut butter and jelly.

SELYUKH: Wait. That's creamy. Do we want crunchy? Are we going to start that debate?

NORSWORTHY: Are you a crunchy peanut butter-eater?

SELYUKH: Yeah.

NORSWORTHY: What? They're both 2.08.

KING: You can see all of the prices that Alina and her team tracked at npr.org/shoppingcart.

(SOUNDBITE OF CFCF'S "AQUASCAPE")

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

5 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

6 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

7 folder   

n.纸夹，文件夹

参考例句：

• Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
• He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。

8 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

9 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

10 screwdriver   

n.螺丝起子；伏特加橙汁鸡尾酒

参考例句：

• He took a screwdriver and teased out the remaining screws.他拿出螺丝刀把其余的螺丝卸了下来。
• The electric drill can also be used as a screwdriver.这把电钻也可用作螺丝刀。

11 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

16 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

17 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

18 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

19 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

20 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

21 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

22 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。