U.S. Responds to Chinese Tariff Increase

In response to China’s Ministry of Commerce announcing increased tariffs on a range of U.S. exports to that country, the Trump Administration announced an immediate across-the-board hike in U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.

Both President Trump (via Twitter here and here) and USTR (via a direct release) announced that response, with a 5 percent increase on the vast majority (if not all) of current and pending tariffs. That announcement included:

  • A 5 percent tariff increase on all tariffs already in place (Lists 1, 2 and 3) as of October 1, raising their effective rate from 25 percent to 30 percent. USTR’s release said there would be a public comment process for this increase, raising questions as to whether this increase would end up applying to all products on these lists or whether additional exemptions or adjustments would be made.
  • A 5 percent tariff increase on products included on List 4 – both 4A and 4B – raising their effective rate from 10 percent to 15 percent as of the original implementation dates (September 1 for 4A and December 15 for 4B).  USTR gave no indication of plans to have a similar notice and comment process for this tariff increase.

USTR’s announcement indicates they plan to publish a Federal Register notice with greater detail soon.

Source: Hardwood Federation

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.