New York
Need a new computer, television or phone? You might want to consider getting one now.
That’s because President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a new 10% across-the-board tariff on Chinese goods could be enacted as soon as February 1.
Unlike Mexico and Canada, which largely avoid tariffs on exports to the United States because of the current USMCA trade agreement which Trump signed in his first term, a wide array of Chinese goods currently face tariffs. (Trump also threatened 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods come February 1).
Chinese goods are currently subject to a 100% tariff on electric vehicles and 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products. But several items have been exempt from tariffs.
One of the biggest exemptions: consumer electronics. But if Trump proceeds with a 10% blanket tariff on Chinese goods that would no longer be the case.
That matters because consumer electronics are among the top goods the US imported from China last year, according to federal trade data.
Communications equipment accounted for 12%, or $47 billion, of the $401 billion worth of goods the US imported from China last year, not accounting for December, making it the single top category of goods the US imported from there. (December trade data is not yet available.)
Communications equipment includes everything from cellphones to TVs to satellites, according to the classification system the US government uses.
Valued at $39 billion, the second biggest category of goods the US imported from China last year was computer equipment. That includes tablets, laptops, monitors and essentially all the components that power them, such as semiconductor chips and and network interface cards.
Then comes the $37 billion category of goods deemed “miscellaneous manufactured commodities” the US imported from China last year. Toys, jewelry, silverware, and sporting equipment are all among the goods included in that umberella category.
Like many consumer electronics, they’ve virtually escaped many tariffs in place on Chinese goods imported to the US.
So when will consumers feel the sting from the 10% tariff? Even if Trump makes good on his threat and places a tariff on all Chinese goods on February 1, it could take some time until all the prices consumers pay for these goods increase. Some retailers may be able to absorb the higher costs of tariffs, especially if they’ve stockpiled additional inventory in advance.
But others may not be able to afford to do so, in which case consumers could expect to see more immediate price increases if tariffs on Chinese goods increase.
