Update on the U.S.-China trade war—Full list of new tariffs (and expiring exclusions)

Our last article covered the Biden administration's announcement of new tariffs on various Chinese imports. We discussed the reasoning behind these tariffs, which are rooted in China's unfair trade practices, and the potential implications for procurement professionals.

In this post, we'll delve deeper into the specifics of the announcement, examining the existing tariffs and the newly added items. We’ll also examine a series of exclusions to the tariffs from the Trump Administration, which are about to expire and could cause a sudden, unexpected price hike for importers of Chinese goods.

Timeline of the U.S.-China trade dispute

We must look at how we got here to understand the current situation.

The trade dispute between the U.S. and China has been ongoing since 2018. The U.S. government imposed tariffs on Chinese goods under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in response to China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation deemed unfair for U.S. commerce.

Here’s a timeline of the dispute:

• July 6, 2018 (List 1): The U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on 818 tariff subheadings, impacting approximately $34 billion of Chinese imports.
• August 23, 2018 (List 2): An additional 25% tariff was imposed on 279 tariff subheadings.
• September 24, 2018 (List 3): A 10% tariff was introduced on 5,745 tariff subheadings, covering $200 billion of imports. This tariff was later increased to 25% on May 10, 2019.
• September 1, 2019 (List 4A) and December 15, 2019 (List 4B): A 10% tariff was imposed on 3,805 tariff subheadings, impacting $300 billion of imports. This was later increased to 15%, but the additional duty on List 4B was suspended. The tariff on List 4A was reduced to 7.5% on February 14, 2020.
• May 2022: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) initiated a statutory review of the tariffs.
• May 14, 2024: Following the review, the USTR announced new tariffs on certain Chinese imports and the expiration of some exclusions.

The contents of lists 1 through 4 (2018–2019)

The tariffs imposed between 2018 and 2019, known as Lists 1, 2, 3, and 4, targeted a wide range of Chinese products.

These lists covered almost all import categories of products coming from China. They also included exclusions for certain products, allowing them to be imported without facing additional tariffs. Most of these exclusions expired in 2019 and 2020 but were later reinstated. Additional exclusions were issued in 2020 because of COVID-19.

New tariffs on Chinese imports, May 14, 2024

On May 14, 2024, following a four-year review of the Section 301 tariffs and the observation that China hadn’t effectively reduced its unfair trade practices, the USTR announced modifications to the existing tariffs and the imposition of new tariffs on certain products.

These new tariffs will impact 387 products (365 in 2024, 16 in 2025, and 6 in 2026) in the following categories:

You’ll find the detailed list of all the impacted products here .

It's not just new tariffs—Some exclusions will expire on June 14, 2024

In addition to the new tariffs, procurement professionals must be aware that some exclusions from the first four tariff lists are set to expire on June 14, 2024, while others will expire on May 31, 2025.

All 429 exclusions were set to expire on May 31 . Of those, 265 were extended for an additional 14 days until June 14, while the remaining 164 were extended for an entire year.

What does that mean?

This means that 265 everyday Chinese imports (listed here ) excluded from the original tariffs issued by the Trump Administration in 2018–2019 could all become subject to a 25% tariff starting June 15.

Procurement professionals must monitor the USTR's updates regarding the status of these exclusions.

Pro tip for procurement professionals: You can request exclusions on certain products

It’s important to note that you, as a procurement professional, have a say in all this. If there’s an item on the list that you think shouldn’t be there, you can request that it be excluded.

The USTR proposes to create a process for excluding 315 general machinery products and 19 types of solar manufacturing equipment from the tariffs.

Additionally, you can request the reinstatement of the previous exclusions that are about to expire. This can be a valuable strategy for mitigating the impact of tariffs on your supply chain.

You’ll find the detailed list of possible machinery exclusions here . Don’t miss it!

Please let us know if you'd like a detailed guide on requesting an exclusion. We'll be happy to provide a follow-up article with step-by-step instructions.