Comments on: Guide to Avoiding Section 301 of Trump’s China Tariffs

By: Dave Bryant

Dave Bryant — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 16:19:17 +0000

It’s not a political comment at all – and, in fact, if it was it would probably be considered a positive as the tariffs have proven to be pretty popular strategy despite the negativity at the time (given the fact they haven’t been repealed). However, you are right that we’re probably missing a keyword opportunity in targeting Section 301 as well :)

By: Alf Tanner

Alf Tanner — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 16:39:14 +0000

Why do you continue to call them “Trump’s” tariffs? Biden has been President for 2 years now, and he owns them now. The media bias is so obvious. When Trump put in the tariffs, there was endless screeching from the media about how bad the tariffs were. Now that Biden has chosen to keep the tariffs, you pretty much hear crickets. Personally, I am all for free trade, but it also needs to be fair. China was restricting U.S. access to their markets while we were allowing endless imports tax free. This put U.S. manufacturing at a disadvantage because U.S. companies are required to pay taxes and follow regulations. China not only charged VAT taxes on U.S. goods, but they also required Chinese ownership of any manufacturing in China. The over reliance on China was proven to be a mistake during Covid. “Trump’s” tariffs were proven to be the right thing to do; otherwise, Biden would not have kept them in place.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 06 May 2021 16:48:23 +0000

Hi Dave

Thanks a lot for this great article. Do you know if the 25% tarrif can be recovered if goods are exported? I send a bunch of stuff to Canada but it comes into the US first. I havent been able to find any info around this.

Thanks!

By: Dave Bryant

Dave Bryant — Wed, 05 May 2021 16:06:09 +0000

In reply to Christine. There is a complex set of rules that govern scenarios like this and it is really dependent on the product category. For example, with watches, the 'movement' is what determines the country of origin, not the straps/buckles/etc. You really need to talk to a customs broker because it's sooo product specific.

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 13:00:02 +0000

In reply to Dave Bryant.

Good morning – finding your blog little late – but very useful. If a product is partially made in China, exported to another country for converting of that product and then exported to America – would that avoid some of the duties? What is the percentage of product conversion of an item that deems it not “Made in China”

By: Dave Bryant

Dave Bryant — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 21:15:50 +0000

In reply to James. a) Yes absolutely. Your duties are only an estimate at the time of entry. They can go back a long time in the past to collect b) If items are exported again they may be subject to a duty drawback. The paperwork and fees can be quite expensive ($1000-$2000+) and not guaranteed. Ask your customs broker if worth it. c) Normally won't make a difference.

By: James

James — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:41:29 +0000

Hi Dave.
We got our products from china 5 months ago, and only now we received a demand from our broker to pay extra fees retroactively due to the tariffs. My questions are: (a) – can the tariff be imposed retroactively? we already got the products in our hands many months ago; (b) the tariff imposed is very high and unexpected for us. Can we just get rid of the products by returning them back to the broker and then be exempted from the tariff?; (c) the imported products are not designed to be sold separately in the US but to be only components as part of a more complex product we are selling out. Are we still be obligated to pay the tariff? Thank you

By: Dave Bryant

Dave Bryant — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 22:26:57 +0000

In reply to Jakub. This is a complicated question - there are a lot of rules for determining country of origin in circumstances like this. You'll need to talk to a customs broker.

By: Jakub

Jakub — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 07:50:34 +0000

Hi Dave,
What about goods produced in China, shipped then to Norway and assembled there together with other components in order to produce “final” product which will be then shipped to US.
For example, we have propeller blades(casting) produced in China and then assembled in Norway to a marine propulsion system and then shipped to US.
Do we need to pay extra tariffs?

By: Dave Bryant

Dave Bryant — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 04:14:23 +0000

In reply to Rommy. Confirm with a customs broker to be sure. Most will tell you for free as long as you're an existing client.