Trump Announces September 1 Import Tariffs from China

On August 1, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that beginning September 1, a tariff of 10 percent would be placed on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese imports to the USA that had not previously been subject to tariffs. The new tariffs are expected to hit consumer wallets hard – the tariffs will be placed on items like electronics, apparel and household goods, and the costs are more likely to be passed on in the form of higher prices. Because tariffs are expected to be imposed at the beginning of next month, there will be little time – about a week – for shippers to load container vessels with freight in time to beat the tariffs.  But if shippers believe that the Trump administration might increase those tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent, as happened with other classes of commodities, they could still be motivated to load their cargo as early as possible. China and the U.S. plan to meet again in September to extend trade talks.