By the time this article arrives in your hands, the U.S. trade rift with China might have been settled. Or it might have escalated. Or the Trump administration may have set its sights on another country's trade imbalances with the United States. Whatever the case, the current disruption is compelling importers from a spectrum of U.S. industries to think seriously about how to re-order their sourcing portfolios. Steve Lamar, executive vice president of supply chain at the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), suggested the tariff conflict is serving as a catalyst for a restructuring that was already on the drawing board. "Probably what I've been hearing people say most is: 'Now we're going to do what we've been saying we were go do for the last five years - diversify out of China,'" he told HTT. The first tariffs levied on imported goods made in China went into effect on July 6 of last year. The $34 billion in imports were saddled with a 25% duty, but did not include textiles. On Aug. 23, another $16 billion in imports from China became subject to 25% duty. Again textiles dodged the bullet. Those were known as List 1 and List 2, respectively. List 3 went into effect Sept. 24 - the first day of the New York Home Fashions Market. It impacted $200 billion in Chinese imports and came with a proviso. Duties were levied at 10%, but if the U.S. and China could not work out an agreement by March 2, 2019, those would jump to 25%. As of press time, the administration announced it would extend the deadline. "The third list had fibers, carpet and rugs, and feather & down products like feather boas, but not down & feather itself," said Robert Leo, legal counsel for the Home Fashion Products Association (HFPA) and a partner at Meeks, Sheppard, Leo & Pillsbury, which specializes in customs law.
展开▼
