The planned increase in tariffs on Chinese imports this week has been shelved in an initial agreement reached by the U.S. and China. The Administration said it would forego the tariff hike from 25% to 30% scheduled to go into effect today (October 15) on $250 billion worth of annual imports. In exchange, the Chinese would increase purchases of U.S. farm products.

With many details yet to be worked out, it is unclear what further effects the initial agreement will produce, including the fate of additional U.S. tariff increases scheduled to go into effect in December on electronics, apparel, and other imported consumer goods. While China’s exports to the U.S. have been slumping — by more than one-fifth in September vs. one year ago, some observers saw the results of last Friday’s talks as potentially in Beijing’s favor, as China prefers to slow down negotiations. Still, tensions were seen to be reduced between the two countries, which had been rising since talks broke down in the Spring.

What importers should know:

The situation remains very fluid. We are advising clients to do the following:

• Know whether your imports are affected and decide what you’re going to do about it.
• If you have a question about whether your products are affected by these or other tariffs, we may be able to help. We can tell you what impact the tariffs will have on your shipments, and help you file a claim for an exemption.
• Consider sourcing options in other countries besides China.

If you have questions regarding your shipments, please contact: Bill Skinner.

An additional increase in tariffs on $250B of goods imported from China has been delayed by two weeks, from October 1 to October 15. President Trump announced the move as a goodwill gesture ahead of planned trade talks with Chinese officials in Washington next month.

The tariffs scheduled to increase from 25% to 30% were chiefly on non-consumer materials used by businesses. Although the U.S. and China remain far apart on many issues and further tariffs on Chinese goods are threatened, news of the postponement was seen as brightening the outlook for the October trade talks.

Earlier Wednesday, China announced a range of U.S. goods to be exempted from 25% extra tariffs announced last year. However, those did not include exports such as soybeans and other products whose increased tariffs are exerting pressure on American farmers.

Click HERE for list of impacted goods.

What can importers do?

The situation remains very fluid. We are advising clients to do the following:

• Know whether your imports are affected and decide what you’re going to do about it.
• If you have a question about whether your products are affected by these or other tariffs, we may be able to help. We can tell you what impact the tariffs will have on your shipments, and help you file a claim for an exemption.
• Consider sourcing options in other countries besides China.

The Trump Administration announced today that some Chinese imported goods slated to face a new round of tariffs on September 1 will now be exempted until at least mid-December. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Tuesday that it will instead delay the new tariffs on many major categories of items, including smartphones, laptop computers, toys and some other items, until Dec. 15. USTR also said that some products would be removed from the tariff lists entirely, based on health, safety, national security and other factors.

The complete lists of affected goods can be viewed HERE.

The delay in imposition of the tariffs earned a reprieve for American negotiators, who have been struggling to re-establish trade talks with the Chinese officials.  And consumers will be relieved to know that electronics, smartphones, toys and other items will not be slapped with additional tariffs through at least much of the holiday shopping season.

WHAT TO KNOW:

The situation remains very fluid. WB Skinner is advising our clients to do the following:

• Know whether your imports are affected and decide what you’re going to do about it.
• Consider sourcing options in other countries besides China.
• If you have a question about whether your products are affected by the tariffs, we may be able to help. We can tell you what impact the tariffs will have on your shipments, and help you file an exemption.

The new round of tariffs announced by President Trump last week is expected to affect nearly all of the $540 billion in goods currently imported from China. Consumer products that had been spared in previous rounds — including smartphones, apparel, toys and video games — will now be subject to tariffs, beginning September 1.

What should importers know?

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is expected to release a final list of affected goods before the September 1 deadline. The preliminary list was published in the Federal Register on May 17. Click HERE to view.

Note that some items on that preliminary list will likely have been removed, as ongoing hearings on the additional duties held since the publication are enabling businesses to comment and seek exclusions.

Regardless, the new tariffs are aimed squarely at the items most likely to cause consumers pain, such as footwear, clothing, toys and popular electronics such as Apple’s product line.

What can importers do?

If the tariffs do take effect on Sept. 1, companies will have an opportunity to file for exclusions. Those seeking waivers in previous instances have had to explain why the tariffs would cause them “severe economic harm,” why the products are unavailable outside China and whether the item was “strategically important” to China’s industrial policy.

Although recent trade talks with China appear to have been unproductive, the situation remains very fluid. WB Skinner is advising our clients to do the following:

• Know whether your imports are affected and decide what you’re going to do about it.
• Consider sourcing options in other countries besides China.
• If you have a question about whether your products are affected by the tariffs, we may be able to help. We can tell you what impact the tariffs will have on your shipments, and help you file an exemption.

Facing another threatened round of tariffs on goods from China, importers may feel they have few options left to avoid the higher fares. Amid continued uncertainty surrounding the next moves in the U.S. and China trade dispute, we are advising our customers to be aware of their potential eligibility to claim product exclusions and/or recovery or duties.

Requests for product exclusions from duties on imports require detailed information such as manufacturer, country of origin, product availability in the U.S. or a source outside of China, and detailed supporting records. If a request for exclusion, or for a refund of Section 301 duties is met with a denial, there is a process for appeal, but it must be initiated within the allowed time frame.

CLICK HERE to see an overview presented by the NCBFAA of the considerations and process involved in filing for exclusions and recovery of duties.

WHERE THE TARIFF “WAR” STANDS: After trade talks with China fell apart, President Trump on May 10 raised tariffs to 25% on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports. (Goods with a date export from China no later than May 9 will not be affected, as long as they enter the U.S. by June 1.)

China soon retaliated by announcing plans to increase tariffs on about $60 billion worth of American goods. The U.S. has now threatened to apply a 25% tariff on the remaining two-thirds of Chinese imports, with some exceptions.

What you should do:

In this rapidly changing environment, we are advising clients to consider the following:

• Know whether your imports are affected and decide what you’re going to do about it.
• If you have a question about whether your products are affected by the tariffs, we may be able to help. We can tell you what impact the tariffs will have on your shipments, and help you file an exemption.
• Consider sourcing options in other countries besides China.

This continues to be a very fluid situation, and we are here to help you find the proper course of action.

Contact me if we can be of help and check back on our website at www.wbskinner.com for frequent updates.

The U.S. increased Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products from 10% to 25% today, as talks continued to try to salvage a potential deal.

The tariff hike went into effect hours after meetings between U.S. and Chinese negotiators failed to produce a settlement. The White House said that there were no plans to suspend the increase, which it had threatened months ago, and President Trump said steps were being taken to impose fresh 25% tariffs on an additional $325 billion in currently untaxed Chinese goods. Chinese leaders rejected U.S. claims that it has reneged on negotiations.

What you should know:

The new tariffs apply to goods leaving China and entering the U.S. after midnight on Friday May 10. Air shipments will be affected immediately, but cargo from China with a date export of May 9 or earlier will not be affected.   Regardless of the export date, all affected 301 Section 1 goods from China will be subject to the 25% tariff if they enter the U.S. after June 1, 2019.

On Wednesday, May 8, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the effective date of the increase, and also said it would establish a process by which interested parties can request particular products within HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) be excluded from the 25% tariff.  See the CBP notice HERE.

What you should do:

In this rapidly changing environment, we are advising clients to consider the following:

• Know whether your imports are affected and decide what you’re going to do about it.
• If you have a question about whether your products are affected by the tariffs, we may be able to help. We can tell you what impact the tariffs will have on your shipments, and help you file an exemption.
• Don’t panic, but also don’t ignore the possible significant impact to your business.

This continues to be a very fluid situation, and we are here to help you find the proper course of action.

Contact me if we can be of help and check back on our website at www.wbskinner.com for frequent updates.

The Trump administration has once more threatened a new round of Section 301 tariffs on imported goods from Europe. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer proposed new tariffs on $11 billion in imports from European Union countries. Unlike previously announced tariffs on steel and goods from China, however, these are compensation for what the U.S. says are illegal subsidies given to Airbus, the aerospace manufacturer. In a complicated case, the World Trade Organization ruled that the U.S. could impose tariffs, which the U.S. has estimated will total $11 billion on items ranging from aerospace products to swordfish to bed linens. The matter is currently under review by a WTO arbitrator, with a report expected this summer.

The new proposed tariffs are in addition to those imposed on steel and aluminum and threatened on auto exports.   The amount of the new duties has not yet been determined. Public hearings on the proposed tariffs will begin in May.

See the proposed list of goods affected HERE.

In this rapidly changing environment, we are advising clients to consider the following:

• Know whether your imports are affected and decide what you’re going to do about it.
• If you have a question about whether your products are affected by the tariffs, we may be able to help. We can tell you what impact the tariffs will have on your shipments, and help you file an exemption.
• Don’t panic, but also don’t ignore the possible significant impact to your business.

This continues to be a very fluid situation, and we are here to help you find the proper course of action.

Contact me if we can be of help and check back on our website at www.wbskinner.com for frequent updates.

TRUCE IN U.S. – CHINA TARIFF WAR DELAYS THREATENED INCREASE TO 25%

President Trump’s sideline meeting in Argentina with China President Xi Jinping has produced a tentative pause in the ongoing tariff war between the two countries.

Although many details are not yet known, the U.S. announced it would hold off on higher tariff rates (from the current 10% to 25% on List 3 on January 1, 2019) for at least 90 days, while China plans to buy a ’very substantial’ amount of U.S. farm and energy goods.

Meanwhile the two sides will wrangle over thorny issues such as intellectual property, cyberattacks, and China’s treatment of workers in the hopes of reaching a broader trade agreement.

Markets reacted positively, and most analysts and business groups greeted the news of the truce as a welcome ‘detente,’ although some cautioned that the differences on the difficult issues remain vast, and tough negotiations lie ahead.

Within the last 24 hours, the U.S. and China slapped new tariffs on additional product categories, escalating the continuing trade war between the two nations.

On Monday, Sept. 17, President Trump announced tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods from China, on top of the $50 billion already taxed earlier this year. The next wave of tariffs (List 3) is subject to additional duties under Section 301 of the Trade Act and is scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 24 at a tax rate of 10%  — before climbing to 25% on Jan. 1. Shipments of goods under the new round of tariffs must arrive in the U.S. – and an entry form must be filed – by September 23 in order to avoid the 10% increase on applicable items.

The new product categories affected include electronics, food, tools and housewares. Some product categories removed from the first two proposed lists, after industry objections were raised, include smart watches, Bluetooth devices, certain chemical inputs, bicycle helmets, car seats and playpens. While no exclusion process has yet been issued by USTR for this third list, exclusion requests for List 1 are due by October 9, 2018, and by December 18, 2018 for items on List 2.

Under Section 301, country of origin and date of entry determine whether the goods are affected. For example, if goods are made in China but shipped from Hong Kong or Taiwan, they will still be taxed at the new rate. And brokers may request that the date of arrival be the date of entry.  If you have any questions on managing the entry filing or other parts of the process, please contact us. 

Nearly half of all Chinese imports into the U.S. will soon face levies.

The President also said he was prepared to immediately place tariffs on another $267 billion worth of imports if China “takes retaliatory action against our farmers or other industries.”

On September 18, China announced it was imposing new trade tariffs on $460 billion worth of American goods, beginning September 24.  Included are products such as liquefied natural gas, although at lower rates than expected; plus an additional 5% in duty on U.S. products including smaller aircraft, computers and textiles and an extra 10% on chemicals, wheat, meat and wine.

See list 3 HERE for the product categories affected by the new U.S. tariffs.

On September 11, the U.S. Department of Commerce published an amendment to the rules on steel and aluminum articles subject to duties and quotas under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion rule.

The changes include a new rebuttal and surebuttal process, the controversial system that allows a company to object to exclusions requested by another company in the sector.   Rebuttal comments are now due as early as September 18. Duties of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum have been in effect for certain countries since March 23 of this year.

On August 29, President Trump signed a proclamation allowing for the Dept. of Commerce to provide targeted relief from Section 232 import quotas on steel and aluminum. The move was welcomed by some members of Congress and industry as providing improvements to the product exclusion process, including for products that are from countries subject to quotas as well as tariffs.

The exclusion process has been the subject of much commentary, at and beyond hearings, among industry leaders. Industry executives continue to keep a watchful eye on the situation regarding tariffs and other restrictions on aluminum and steel, as well as other products.

Read the amendments published in the Federal Register HERE.

In this rapidly changing environment, we are advising clients to consider the following:

• Know whether your imports are affected and decide what you’re going to do about it.
• If you have a question about whether your products are affected by the tariffs, we may be able to help. We can tell you what impact the tariffs will have on your shipments, and help you file an exemption.
• Don’t panic, but also don’t ignore the possible significant impact to your business.

This continues to be a very fluid situation, and we are here to help you find the proper course of action.

Contact me if we can be of help and check back on our website at www.wbskinner.com for frequent updates.