How Will US Tarrifs on Chinese Goods Affect Your Project?

In July 2018, the United States introduced a series of new tariffs on goods being imported from China. How will these new tariffs affect you if you are importing goods from China into the US? There is still much uncertainty around this subject and the situation is continuing to unfold however here are the main points you need to know.

What Products Are Affected by the New Tariffs?

There are currently more than 800 Harmonised System (HS) codes affected. HS codes form the international system for declaring goods for import/export in virtually every possible commercial category. These code numbers are routinely used for determining the appropriate duty applied to those goods.

Currently there are a broad range of products and components that have been impacted. These include diagnostic and scientific equipment, automotive parts and assemblies, aerospace components and more. The United States Trade Representative’s office has published a complete list of the HS codes affected by these new tariffs. We recommend you review this list to see if your product has been affected by the tariffs.

For items exported to the United States from China, a duty of 25% is being levied on products falling into the listed categories. This is in addition to any tariffs that may already be in place on some items. The overall size of the tariffs, so far, is relatively small compared the total trade between China and the United States.

How do the Tariffs Impact Products That Come From Star Rapid?

Most of our customers have not been impacted by the new tariffs since they don’t currently apply to the prototyping we do, so for Star Rapid it is business as usual. If your product from Star Rapid is a prototype, or is a component that will go into a prototype, then the good news is that it’s unlikely to be affected by tariffs which are meant to apply only to goods of a commercial value.

The tariffs may affect some of the products that we make if they are finished goods or parts of a larger assembly. This is one reason we recommend that all customers carefully review the HS codes they use to ensure they’re being applied correctly. If you’re unsure whether your product qualifies as a duty-free import, it’s best to confirm with your logistics partner or freight forwarder. If you plan to do business with us, or if you are already a customer, we are happy to work with you to review HS codes if there is any uncertainty.

How Will These Tariffs Affect Your Business With Star Rapid in the Future?

We are pleased that very few of our customers have been impacted by tariffs so far due to the prototyping nature of our business and the research and development we do. In fact, the lack of impact on prototyping has caused an increase in demand. As always, we will continue to work with the few customers who have been impacted to ensure the success of their project.

We encourage you to continue to monitor the situation by reviewing resources such as the website for the office of the US Trade Representative. If you have any questions or concerns about the impact of tariffs on your project feel free to contact us for more details.