China Tariff List 4…It’s Official! And Just In Time for Peak Season…
Good news for some!……The effective date of tariffs on approximately $156 billion in Chinese products on List 4B has been postponed until December 15, 2019.
This list may contain many items on your holiday shopping list, such as some apparel and footwear; household decorative items of plastic, metal, or wood, including Christmas decorations; Christmas cards, and some electronics and toys.
List 4B includes products where China’s share of U.S. imports from the world is 75% or greater. Importers with Chinese products on List 4A are unfortunately not so lucky.
List 4A includes tariff subheadings where China’s share of U.S. imports from the world isless than 75%. Items on this list are subject to 10% tariff increase for shipments entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after September 1, 2019.
Examples of items on list 4A are printed matter, including advertising materials and books, leather articles, wooden tableware (other than bamboo) and wood blinds. There is no reprieve for shipments already on the water. The 10% start date is based strictly on date of arrival at the first port of unlading in the US or the date of Customs clearance, whichever is later. Importers should pay special attention to material construction and product descriptions, now more than ever.
The two lists, in many cases, only differ after the 8th digit level of the Tariff number, which is solely bases on material construction and/or specific use. For example, sweaters, pullovers, sweatshirts and waistcoats of cotton or man-made fibers are on List 4A while similar items of cashmere, wool and silk are on List 4B. Scarves made of silk or wool are on List 4A while scarves of synthetic fibers are on List 4B. Leather golf shoes for men and boys are on List 4B, but hopefully Santa’s elves have already shipped leather golf shoes for ladies and girls. They are on List 4A! Interestingly, projectors capable of directly connecting to and designed for use with an automatic data processing machine are on list 4A, unless they are color video projectors with a flat panel screen incorporating a VCR or player. LED light bulbs and Christmas light bulbs escape higher tariffs until December while filament lamps are on List 4A. As with products on Lists 1-3, exclusions will be available for products on List 4. Application dates for List 4 have not yet been announced. For the full list and Regulation, please visit USTR’s website here.
