Be Original Americas has announced a series of panel discussions on the topic of tariffs and their impact on the design industry in Mexico City and San Francisco this October. In March 2018, the Trump administration announced proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum causing material prices to rise and supply to shrink. The United States is the world's largest importer of steel with top sources being Canada, Brazil, and Mexico.
Steel and aluminum are used in the construction of a number of building components, furniture, and products. The tariffs have generated an increase in production overhead by increasing the costs of materials needed for production and creating a shortage of said materials thus affecting architects, designers, and manufacturers across the design industry.
To explore the topic of tariffs further with industry experts, Be Original Americas will host two panel discussions.
Design in the Time of Tariffs
Friday, October 12, 2018, 1:15-2:00 p.m.
Where: Design Week Mexico
Museo Nacional de Antropología
Mexico City
RSVP required to beoriginal@bdeonline.biz
Panelists: Diana Budds, Senior Story Producer, Curbed
Antonio Caliz, Principal, Gensler
John Christakos, Founder and CEO, Blu Dot
Design is a form of creative expression, a commodity, an investment, and source of livelihood. In today's political climate, it's also an economic bargaining chip. World leaders are proposing billions of dollars of tariffs for raw materials and finished products and reevaluating trade treaties that impact the global design industry. As policymakers weigh the future of tariffs, uncertainties will endure-and the design market will respond to them, for better or worse.
Join Diana Budds, Senior Story Producer, Curbed, along with Blu Dot founder and CEO, John Christakos, and Gensler's Principal of Latin America, Antonio Caliz, both members of the Be Original Americas design advocacy group, to discuss how creatives in the design and architecture industry are evaluating their creative work and their professional practice in the time of tariffs.
Design's Future in the Era of Trump
Thursday, October 16, 2018, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Where: fuseproject
1401 16th Street
San Francisco
RSVP required to beoriginal@bdeonline.biz
Panelists: Suzanne LeBarre, Design Editor, Fast Company
Yves Béhar, CEO & Founder, fuseproject
Collin Burry, Design Director & Principal, Gensler
Primo Orpilla, Principal, Studio O+A
Laura Guido-Clark, Creative Director & Founder, LG-C Design
Ted Boerner, Founder, Ted Boerner Furniture Design
Derek Chen, Founder, Council
Join Suzanne LaBarre, Fast Company's Design Editor, and the stellar panel regarding on how the new trade tariffs and sanctions are affecting multiple design industries. Hear from experts in manufacturing, industrial design, and architecture as they discuss their experiences and share thoughts on the future of design in the era of Trump's trade wars.