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US Import duties on Chinese products


shedman
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Does anyone know yet how President Trump's announcement about a 25% import duty on Chinese imports will affect our hobby? I've scanned the news feeds here in the UK and can find no mention of specific products. But given that so many model railroad models are made in China and we have to buy them from the US, I am concerned about the impact on modellers.

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Most appear to be designated targets which are like the UKs Harley tariff.  Its doubtful if any will filter down to where its a concern to modellers, but you know how he is! :stinker:

 

Brian.

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For me the sky-rocketing shipping costs from the USA along with (it seems) a general reluctance of US ebay sellers to offer USPS First shipping as a cheaper option, put paid to my importing anything from there a few years ago.

This remote possibility is, therefore, a moot point. :(

Edited by F-UnitMad
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Probably not as they would get classified as Chinese goods being exported to Europe rather than US goods; plus they probably fall outside the scope of such!

It’s more that they may get a tariff when first imported to the US, putting up the price for all modellers of US stuff in the US and here.
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It’s more that they may get a tariff when first imported to the US, putting up the price for all modellers of US stuff in the US and here.

 

No because they are not staying in the US and any tax would be refunded by the US Customs to the manufacturer/name on the box!

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No because they are not staying in the US and any tax would be refunded by the US Customs to the manufacturer/name on the box!

Not sure about that. As I read this so far, it's about "country of origin" only, not where things eventually end up. If it's only applied on items arriving from China, then an idea for US importers would be to import through a third (non-tariff) country.

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Not sure about that. As I read this so far, it's about "country of origin" only, not where things eventually end up. If it's only applied on items arriving from China, then an idea for US importers would be to import through a third (non-tariff) country.

 

Duty is not paid on exports, it is up to the receiving country to do so!

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Duty is not paid on exports, it is up to the receiving country to do so!

I didn't explain clearly. What I was describing was items being exported from China to "country3", which has no tariffs on Chinese goods. US has no tariffs on items being imported from "country3". These Chinese goods are then re-exported to the US, and so arrive there tariff-free.

 

I really don't think that would work, though because (as I understand it), these US tariffs are based on "country of origin", not "country imported from".

 

On a different point (please excuse the topic drift), there are tariffs being proposed (threatened?) of up to 25% on cars being imported to the US. The North American car market is completely integrated under NAFTA, with some items crossing national borders possibly up to 8 times during construction of a vehicle and its components. I have no idea how you would handle tariffs under that system, though I have seen it suggested that tariffs would compound, implying no refunds on re-export.

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The US import/export rules are incredibly complicated regarding ITAR (International Trade in Arms Regulations). These new regulations will presumably have provisions about 3rd party transfers just like ITAR.

 

The Whitehouse seems to be oblivious of the unintended consequences of some of these grand ideas. Wal-Mart advertises a lot of 'made in America' products but these are inevitably at the top end price bracket. All the currently cheaper items are made in China.

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No because they are not staying in the US and any tax would be refunded by the US Customs to the manufacturer/name on the box!

I doubt that would happen for personal imports to the UK Edited by Talltim
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It’s more that they may get a tariff when first imported to the US, putting up the price for all modellers of US stuff in the US and here.

Thank you all for your interesting replies. What I fear will happen is what Talltim has said, but we shall have to wait and see. I have  back orders with a company in the UK for Atlas items being made in China for the US market. I may have to reconsider. Trevor

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Hey, we need to defend our country - as the President said, it's a national security issue.  Too many Athearn diesels and  . .  yeah I don't get it either.

I want to click funny, but this is too desperately sad for that...
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Thank you all for your interesting replies. What I fear will happen is what Talltim has said, but we shall have to wait and see. I have  back orders with a company in the UK for Atlas items being made in China for the US market. I may have to reconsider. Trevor

 

Another thought is that Atlas trains manufactured in China, but destined for sale in non-US markets may in fact go nowhere near the USA at all. 

 

I've no idea what the corporate or distribution structure is for these items, but say that items for Europe are all invoiced and delivered from the Chinese manufacturer to a distributor in Europe, within the EU (yes, I do know that in theory we're leaving), say in Luxembourg. It might be that the Luxembourg distributor pays a sales commission to Atlas US, but that the goods go nowhere near the US mainland and as such don't get hit for tariffs. They would of course be subject to tariffs levied by the EU, just as prior to all this model trains shipped from the US to the EU were subject to charges on arrival. It explains why some folk come home from American tours with models packed in their suitcases, so I'm told.

 

John.

Edited by John Tomlinson
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If you bring stuff in yourself you can bring £390 worth into the UK from outside the EU without paying duty/VAT. If you receive a parcel then VAT starts at a value of £39 plus you will be stung with a customs handling charge. Therefore if you visit the US or have friends over there who can hold things for you it can save you an awful lot of money to avoid receiving models by mail from the states.

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If you bring stuff in yourself you can bring £390 worth into the UK from outside the EU without paying duty/VAT. If you receive a parcel then VAT starts at a value of £39 plus you will be stung with a customs handling charge. Therefore if you visit the US or have friends over there who can hold things for you it can save you an awful lot of money to avoid receiving models by mail from the states.

Thanks, but I know no one in the USA, and I am not likely to travel there in the near future. Trevor

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The £39 threshold on parcels only applies to gifts, for other consignments the threshold for import VAT is £15

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/gift-allowance-and-low-value-consignment-relief-limit-in-2018-cip24

 

Model trains imported under commodity code 9503003000 are not subject to duty only import VAT at 20%, and course there will then be the carrier's handling charge.

 

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/trade-tariff/commodities/9503003000?day=7&month=7&year=2018

 

Getting back to the OP, where the goods have been imported into the US and then re-exported the retailer will have to make a business decision whether to pass on the full tariff or absorb some of it unless US Customs allows a draw back arrangement for re-expoerted goods which enable the US seller to reclaim the duty.

 

All the best

 

Nick

Edited by doctor quinn
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Does anyone know yet how President Trump's announcement about a 25% import duty on Chinese imports will affect our hobby? I've scanned the news feeds here in the UK and can find no mention of specific products. But given that so many model railroad models are made in China and we have to buy them from the US, I am concerned about the impact on modellers.

 

This round has no effect, they have not (yet) targeted consumer goods.

 

However, on Thursday President Trump threatened to ultimately target all imports from China.

 

My understanding, for anyone who wants to follow the issue, our models are categorized as Toys for trade purposes so when you hear the screams of American kids and their parents you will then know that we are heading for price increases.

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So the US has announced another round of tariffs, 10% on $200 billion of imports.

 

There is a period of consultation first so they don't take effect immediately.

 

Trains/Toys still aren't on the list, but we may get to the point of side effects causing price issues.

 

While much of the list is technical there are a bunch of consumer items, and many of the other items may well be used either directly in US made hobby items or indirectly - through rising costs for companies and consumers/employees in general.

 

For anyone interested the list of items can be found at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/301/2018-0026%20China%20FRN%207-10-2018_0.pdf

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Hey, we need to defend our country - as the President said, it's a national security issue.  Too many Athearn diesels and  . .  yeah I don't get it either.

I want to click funny, but this is too desperately sad for that...

 He's going to have a fun time with the real businessmen whose major US industrial concerns are all fully integrated into the global manufacturing village Back in the time when a religious personage was busy defining the USA as the Great Satan, one of their people demanded to know whether any of the product (bearing the trade name of a well known US incorporated business) they wished to purchase sprang from this polluted well, as it was uunacceptable. I told him that to my certain knowledge there was content from in excess of fifty countries in the product and it wasn't possible to sieve out just one. At that point rationality resumed...

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 He's going to have a fun time with the real businessmen whose major US industrial concerns are all fully integrated into the global manufacturing village Back in the time when a religious personage was busy defining the USA as the Great Satan, one of their people demanded to know whether any of the product (bearing the trade name of a well known US incorporated business) they wished to purchase sprang from this polluted well, as it was uunacceptable. I told him that to my certain knowledge there was content from in excess of fifty countries in the product and it wasn't possible to sieve out just one. At that point rationality resumed...

 

Rationality is rare these days in the US.

 

Brian.

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