WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — While President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that his administration will delay some tariffs on Chinese imports until Dec. 15, most bicycle products remain on a list subject to increased tariffs Sept. 1.
The items subject to the new 10% tariff in about two weeks include helmets and lights, products previously exempted on safety grounds. Balance bikes, however, will not be subject to the new tariff until Dec. 15.
In the last 15 months, the administration has imposed tariffs on three lists of products from China. There are currently new 25% tariffs in effect on Lists 1, 2, and 3, and there are bike products on each of those lists. List 4 originally contained just about every bike product that wasn't included on the previous three.
But this week, the administration effectively divided up List 4 into three smaller lists: List 4a includes products that will be subject to a new 10% tariff on Sept. 1; List 4b items will receive the tariff Dec. 15; a third list includes items that have been removed from consideration — that list has yet to be published.
Besides helmets and lights, List 4a includes products imported under the catch-all HTS code of 8714.99.8000. Products that come in under that code include baby carriers, kickstands, wire baskets, carriers and racks, chain tensioners, toe clips, fenders, most handlebars and stems, seatposts, reflectors, headsets, horns, and shocks. Items under this code were previously subject to a 10% tariffs, so they will be subject to a 20% tariff starting Sept. 1.
Most lights previously had no tariff, so the total tariff will be 10% after Sept. 1. Lights that mount to the arm, leg, or helmet had an existing 3.5% tariff, so the total tariff on those will now be 13.5%.
Helmets had no previous tariff.
Protective sunglasses and goggles also will receive the 10% tariff next month.
List 4b does not appear to contain any bike-specific product categories, but includes product categories that capture bike items like gloves, shorts and footwear. Balance bikes are included under a toy category code. The list also contains items like laptops, cellphones, and toys. Trump said those items were given the delay to reduce the tariff's effect on holiday sales.
The U.S. Trade Representative said that 25 categories of products were removed from both lists, but the USTR has not released that list yet. A spokesman told The New York Times the excluded items include "car seats, shipping containers, cranes, certain fish, and Bibles and other religious literature."
The USTR said it would announce a process for industry to formally request exclusions. It will likely also clarify precisely when and how the tariffs will take effect. In prior rounds, the USTR made allowances for products that were in transit when the higher tariff was announced.
