Advocacy

U.S. Delays Some Chinese Tariffs to December 15 to Avoid Impact on Holiday Shopping

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The U.S. Trade Representative announced that the imposition of 10% tariffs on some Chinese goods scheduled to take effect on September 1 would be postponed until December 15, 2019.  Products include cell phones, laptops, computer monitors, video game consoles, and certain toys, footwear and clothing. The tariffs were postponed based on health, safety, national security and other factors. View the complete lists of tariffs imposed on September 1 and December 15:

•    List 4A (Effective September 1, 2019)
•    List 4B (Effective December 15, 2019)

The United States has already imposed 25% tariffs on three separate groups of Chinese imports. The so-called “List 3” imports cover about $200 billion worth of goods including most auto parts, from engines and metal fasteners to tires and brake pads. “List 1” and “List 2” goods are valued at $50 billion and include some miscellaneous metal and rubber parts for auto equipment, machinery, tools and measurement devices.  

The USTR is currently accepting exclusion requests for List 3 products. Requests must be submitted by September 30, 2019. View additional information about List 3 extension requests.  

U.S. and Chinese officials are attempting to negotiate six separate trade documents covering agriculture, services, non-tariff barriers, currency, intellectual property rights and forced technology transfers, and cybersecurity. The most recent trade talks did not yield significant results.  

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.