BREAKING: Trump Administration Imposes Tariffs on $200 Billion in Chinese Goods
September 18, 2018 | President Trump announced last night that tariffs at a rate of 10 percent will be imposed on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, effective September 24. Although finished toys (imported under HTS chapter 9503) are not on the list, the list includes children’s furniture (such as chairs), arts and crafts items, juvenile products, children’s hats, and more. On January 1, tariffs on these goods will increase to 25 percent.
“The Toy Association team is relentlessly focused on preventing the negative impact of tariffs on American families and quality jobs at U.S. toy and children’s product companies,” stated Toy Association President & CEO Steve Pasierb. “The recently-implemented $200 billion round of new tariffs will hit a cross section of our member companies with rising costs, while the threatened additional rounds of tariffs, should they come to pass, will almost certainly sweep up all finished toys and cause irreparable harm to toy companies of all sizes, particularly small businesses. Tariffs on toys and consumer products are nothing more than a tax on American families. Our children’s birthdays, holiday presents, and joy of play shouldn’t be a bargaining chip in an international trade war.”
In total, 5,745 full or partial lines of the original 6,031 tariff lines, announced in July, are included. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) removed 297 tariff lines from the original proposed list, including textiles; consumer electronic products, such as smart watches; bicycle helmets; and child safety furniture, such as car seats and play pens.
The administration said it will immediately pursue tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports should China retaliate.
As part of its ongoing, aggressive fight against tariffs, The Toy Association strongly opposed these tariffs in its comments submitted to the USTR on September 7. Association staff members have also been on Capitol Hill, meeting with USTR and other officials to help them understand the profoundly negative impact that tariffs would have on American companies and jobs. More recently, The Toy Association joined with other trade associations to form Americans for Free Trade, a multi-industry coalition aimed at opposing tariffs and highlighting the benefits of international trade to the U.S. economy.
Toy Association members are encouraged to join the fight against tariffs by:
- Contacting local congressmen and senators to inform them of the harmful impact of tariffs on their companies.
- Joining the Americans for Free Trade coalition at americansforfreetrade.com. It’s free to join and will help strengthen coalition efforts.
- Sharing the impact of tariffs on their companies with The Toy Association. Anecdotal feedback from real people at real companies helps strengthen advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire toy community.
Members are encouraged to get in touch with Rebecca Mond, The Toy Association’s vice president of federal government affairs, for assistance in getting in touch with the appropriate congressional representative, to share feedback on the tariff’s impacts, and/or for more information on this developing issue.
Members will be kept apprised of developments.