June 29 update:
President Trump met with President Jinping and agreed to proceed with trade talks.
So for now, the tariffs are on hold.
Over the past few days, we read and heard a lot of contradictory information regarding the latest news about Donald Trump's tariffs to China.
After some research, here are the facts.
On May 13, 2019, the Office of the US Trade Representative issued a Proposed Modification to Section 301:China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation.
The full text of the Modification is here, proposing a 25% taxation on all goods coming from China: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/301Investigations/May_2019_Proposed_Modification.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0ee4ymnVA6BfQ_HbYkehMhMAj_XG1ZSyDi5ZbqR9nmmU1eljCfc9thw2g
The following categories are listed in the document, so all game publishers and GAMA members are concerned now:
- 9503.00.00: Toys, including riding toys o/than bicycles, puzzles, reduced scale models (page 135)
- 9504.40.00: Playing cards (page 136)
- 9504.90.60: Chess, checkers, backgammon, darts and o/table and parlor games played on boards of a special design and parts thereof; poker chips and dice (page 136)
Despite Mr Trump repeated declaration that "China is paying", those tariffs are in fact taxes that will be applied to all goods coming in from China. The importer of the goods (the game publishers) are the one who will be paying that extra 25%.
This is a proposition. The chances of it being adopted are high if we look at what happened before so there are reasons to worry.
GAMA has already joined forces with the Toy Association and Tariffs Hurt the Heartlands in the past and we will continue to lobby against the application of those tariffs.
Our friend Mindy Baker from the Toy Association has posted a very good piece in the the GAMA Facebook page.
You can add your voice and contact your congressional representative by using the link provided by the Toy Association at: http://cqrcengage.com/toyassociation/app/onestep-write-a-letter?0&engagementId=499825&fbclid=IwAR0JUqtGG3ZKxl_QilsR2sqQGpx7kfAzM6oX4VBqjd52KTelZCWcFW845a0
Every voice count, please forward this link to your employees, your colleagues, your vendors, friends and family.
You should also join the American for Free Trade Coalition at: http://americansforfreetrade.com
I will update this post with new developments and informations as they become available.
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