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Writer's pictureStephen Fodor

IMPORT: Trade War Feb. 7, 2020

Updated: Feb 17, 2020

I wanted to share with you a few updates that may be of interest to you.




China Trade War Tariffs


On Friday, Feb. 14th the additional duty rate for items on China List 4A will drop from the current 15% to 7.5%.


The additional duty on all other lists (1,2 and 3) will remain at 25%.


It is not expected that any of the other additional tariffs will decrease until after the US General Election in November. It is likely to be well after January 2021 before any further reductions occur.


More items on China List 3 have become eligible for exclusion from the 25% tariff. We hope to have the updated list of all items by end of next week and will share it at that time. Please note, many of the exclusions are VERY SPECIFIC and your product must meet the definition EXACTLY in order to qualify for exclusion.


Chinese New Year and the Corona Virus


Chinese New Year officially ended on Feb. 2nd and most workers in China were scheduled to return to work on Feb. 3rd however due to the Corona Virus workers in many areas of China have been kept off work until Feb. 10th with a few areas delayed even longer.


Factories will likely be slow to “gear up” after the New Year’s break due to these factors and it is important to note that while some larger suppliers should be running normally by next week, the impact of the virus could mean that raw materials, parts and suppliers may be delayed or in short supply meaning longer lead times for production are likely.


Ocean carriers have had “blank sailings” and are expected to try to keep supply of space limited in order to keep prices higher. Importers are reminded it is wise to book early to help ensure your cargo moves on time to meet your deadlines.


HTS Classification


Properly classifying your goods under the HTS is always important but due to a number of reasons it is now more important than ever that every importer works to ensure their products are imported using the correct HTS number. Mistakes can be costly! Please contact us for assistance if needed.


We welcome your specific questions, please send them to me at steve@cssbrokers.com. Thank you.

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