September 18, 2018 - In retaliation for the latest round of tariffs, China will place tariffs on $60 billion worth of imports from the U.S. beginning Sept. 24, according to Reuters. The rates will be 5% or 10%, depending on the product.
The full list of affected goods can be found here.
In a White House statement published late Monday, Donald Trump said, "if China takes retaliatory action against our farmers or other industries, we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports."
Tariffs on about $200 billion worth of imports from China will take effect Monday, Sept. 24, senior administration officials said Monday.
The duties will be initially set at 10% but will rise to 25% at the beginning of 2019. In early August, Donald Trump directed the U.S. Trade Representative to raise the duties from the first proposed 10% to 25%.
Officials said 300 tariff lines were removed from the list announced in mid-July, after reviewing more than 6,000 written comments and hearing testimony from 300 witnesses. Some products removed from the list include electronic consumer products, such as smart watches, and chemicals used in manufacturing and agriculture.
Despite dozens of industry organizations and businesses rallying against tariffs, the Trump administration is moving forward with 10% duties starting next week.
Upon written and oral public comments, officials removed about 300 tariff lines from the original list and did not add any additional items or categories. The total value of goods, however, remains around $200 billion.
With the tariffs starting out at 10%, a senior administration official said it allows companies about six months to adjust their business decisions — from the time the announcement was first made in July through the end of the year. After that adjustment period, duties will rise to 25%.
Many businesses have already cited significant headwinds from tariffs in their earnings results, with taxes affecting the top and bottom lines. For companies that haven't felt direct effects just yet, many are preparing for a worst-case scenario and looking at their supply chains and sourcing practices for ways to potentially mitigate the costs.
Earlier this month, Trump alluded to potentially placing tariffs on an additional $267 billion worth of goods from China. To date, tariffs on $50 billion worth of goods are already in effect. The most recent announcement adds $200 billion in value. If another $267 billion are added, the total value of Chinese goods taxed by the U.S. would reach $517 billion, which is more than the total value of goods the U.S. imported from China in 2017.
Administration officials did not confirm nor deny whether those tariffs would take effect but did emphasize that China needs to change its behavior and said the U.S. will consider all options if China does not cooperate.
Source: Supply Chain Dive
