SAVING CHRISTMAS
Trump delays tariffs on phones, laptops
Trump backs off his Sept 1 deadline for 10% tariffs on remaining Chinese imports.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed off his Sept 1 deadline for 10% tariffs on remaining Chinese imports, delaying duties on mobile phones, laptops and other consumer goods, in the hopes of blunting their impact on US holiday sales.
The delay which, affects about half of the $300 billion target list of Chinese goods — along with news of renewed trade discussions between US and Chinese officials — sent stocks sharply higher and drew cautious relief from retailers and technology groups.
The 10% tariffs will be effective from Dec 15 for thousands of products including clothing and footwear, possibly buttressing the holiday selling season from some of the fallout from the protracted trade spat between the world’s two largest economies.
“We’re doing this for Christmas season, just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on US customers,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey. “Just in case they might have an impact on people, what we’ve done is we’ve delayed it so that they won’t be relevant to the Christmas shopping season.”
But the Trump administration still plans to impose 10% tariffs on thousands of Chinese food, clothing and other consumer electronics products beginning Sept 1.
The US Trade Representative’s Office announced the decision just minutes after China’s Ministry of Commerce said Vice Premier Liu He conducted a phone call with US trade officials.
Liu agreed with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to speak again by phone within the next two weeks, the ministry said.
Trump has said the two sides may still meet in early September as scheduled.
According to US Census data, China supplied 82% of US mobile phones and 94.5% of US laptops in 2018.
Based on a Reuters analysis, the delay could extend to around half of the $300 billion list of remaining Chinese imports. Chinese imports subject to the tariffs on Dec 15 totalled about $156 billion last year, according US Census bureau data.
While most retailers would have stocked their holiday merchandise before the September deadline, some might have faced the tariffs for fill-in orders late in the holiday shopping season.
Still, the Retail Industry Leaders Association said “removing some products from the list and delaying additional 10% tariffs on other products, such as toys, consumer electronics, apparel and footwear, until Dec 15 is welcome news as it will mitigate some pain for consumers through the holiday season.”
The 21-page-list of products that will not get hit with tariffs until December also includes baby monitors and strollers, microwaves, instant print cameras, doorbells, high chairs, musical instruments, ketchup dispensers, baby diapers, fireworks, sleeping bags, nativity scenes, fishing reels, paint rollers and food products.
“A separate group of products will be removed from the tariff list altogether,’’ the USTR said, “based on health, safety, national security and other factors.”
It did not immediately identify these items.
In a sign the US may be expecting something in return, Trump tweeted on Tuesday: “As usual, China said they were going to be buying ‘big’ from our great American farmers. So far they have not done what they said. Maybe this will be different!”