NEWS
Reminder - Tariff increase on goods manufactured in China
Following our advisory notes shared in August and September regarding President Trump’s decision to impose a 15% tariff on goods manufactured in China, please be reminded that the final list of affected products will be effective from December 15th.
This will include the rest of books previously not mentioned (children’s books in particular), toys, shoes etc.
Please find here the list of products affected from 1st September.
Products affected by the 25% tariff announced in 2018 will also increase by 5% to 30%.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
This means that your shipments to the USA for goods manufactured in China will be subject to the 15% tariff from either the 1st September 2019 or 15th December 2019.
This will apply irrespective of where the goods are being shipped from.
If you would like to read up on the exclusion process announced by the USTR and a summary of how to request an exclusion, please read more here.
WOODLAND MEDIA RECOMMENDATION
Our US Brokerage Team has gathered information and consulted with US Customs in order to gain and build out important guidance on this topic.
In conclusion, Woodland Media would like to recommend the following, which we hope will assist you in ensuring the tariff is applied correctly and adequately to your shipments:
- Ask your suppliers to include the commodity code(s) on the shipping documents(including the invoice)
- Show the country of origin on the invoice. Should your shipment contain a mix of Chinese goods and goods of different origins then please ensure these shown separately
- US Customs will only apply the 15% tariff on the manufacturing cost/FOB value of the goods, so the invoice should show the manufacturing and shipping costs separately when possible. Alternatively, the invoice can just show the FOB value of the goods.
- We encourage publishers to set up an ACH Debit account if they have a presence in the USA. This is the equivalent of a UK deferment account where US Customs debit all the taxes and duties from the importer’s bank account; our US colleagues can help you / your US counterpart set this up - please contact us here
If you require further assistance, please contact your local Woodland Media representative or reach out to one of our teams here.
We will keep you updated on any further developments.