A Black Diamond, a Fictional Expert & Tariffs

A LITTLE TEE SISTERS STORY

We Got On a Black Diamond Hill Without Knowing 

We’ll take you back to 2017. 

A really cold December in 2017.

Our mom wanted us to experience our Russian roots and take us skiing in Buffalo, NY.

Back then, she wasn’t aware of how hills were named or assessed. So she just said “get on that gondola and just ski down”.

Mind you, we had no skiing experience. 

But what we did have was good listening skills. 

So that’s what we did. 

Once we got up there, we very quickly realized we were out of our depth. The hill wasn’t small. Or easy. And we didn’t even speak enough English to understand any instructions. Long story short, 2 emergency workers had to take us down on a walk down the black diamond hill. 

Fast forward quite a few years, in 2023, we went skiing in Vail Colorado. Our first time skiing since that time. 

We tried SO hard. Fell and learned.

Tried a bunny hill. 

Leeza almost broke her knee because she fell backwards and her right ski didn’t snap off like it should have.

And we preferred walking back up the hill and going down on the gondola vs skiing down.

So despite being Russian by blood, we are not skiers by blood. 

HOT TOPIC

A Fictional Expert From the Past

Have you ever heard of Peter Navarro? 

How about Ron Vara?

What if we told you they were one and the same? 

Peter Navarro is a former White House trade adviser under Donald Trump and he also became the first senior Trump aide to be imprisoned for contempt of Congress. 

But he wasn’t just your other boring adviser.

He was one for the books.

Peter Navarro created a fictional character named Ron Vara, an anagram of his own name, to support his anti-China arguments in books like Death by China. 

Sounds like a Netflix limited series no?

Vara was presented as a Harvard-educated economist who made alarmist claims about China, but researchers discovered in 2019 that he NEVER existed. Navarro admitted to fabricating Vara as a “literary device” for entertainment, but critics argue it was misleading, especially since Navarro’s views influenced U.S. trade policies under Donald Trump. 

While this happened a while ago, this is your reminder to ALWAYS double check your sources before spreading any type of information, inclusive of gossip 👀

After all, our tea shouldn’t just be piping hot, it should also be factual and high quality 👌 

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When You Fall…

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A TEE SISTER LESSON

Tariffs are Impacting Everybody 

Tariffs have been one of the main topics of conversation recently. 

While many are talking about how it’s going to impact consumers, we’re here to tell you how it can impact you as a business owner.

If you are product-focused business shipping from China —> 

Lastly confirmed base tariff rate was 104%. On all Chinese goods.

Certain categories get an extra percentage (e.g. electronics, metal-made, products with rare minerals). 

If you’re thinking “Well, I can just ship through another country like Canada or Mexico to avoid tariffs”, unfortunately, you cannot. Tariffs are classified based on country of origin. 

What can you do as a business owner to avoid paying high tariffs? 

1. Manufacture in the U.S. . Production costs will be higher, but you might end up paying less overall since you’re not paying tariffs. 

2. Manufacture in a country that the U.S. does not have high tariff rates on. For example, the tariff on Canada is 25% with the exception of energy and oil products, which get a 10% tariff rate.

3. Have the parts manufactured in China but significantly reassemble your product in another country with lower tariffs. This will only be profitable for very specific products but is an option. 

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