China retaliates, slaps $60 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods
By Robert Dalheim May 14, 2019 | 12:11 pm EDT
China has retaliated in the trade war - slapping $60 billion in tariffs on more than 5,000 U.S. goods.
China's Ministry of Finance announced Monday morning that China would increase tariffs on 5,140 U.S. products beginning June 1. The move is in retaliation to U.S. increases on Chinese goods that went into effect last week.
"China's tariff move is in response to the U.S. unilateralism and trade protectionism," the Chinese said in statement issued on Monday. "China hopes that the U.S. will return to the right track of bilateral trade talks, work together with China and meet each other halfway, to reach a win-win and mutually beneficial agreement on the basis of mutual respect."
Wood, tariffed from 5 percent to 25 percent, is on the list. The Hardwood Federation reports:
Oak species at 25%;
Cherry and ash at 20%; and
Walnut, hard maple, tulipwood and alder at 5%.
We cannot confirm these tariff values at this time, as translated lists are not yet available. The above rates were announced in December.
Wood products facing a tariff moldings, rods, particleboard, various types of plywood, doors, charcoal, corks, and stoppers, and wicker and bamboo baskets. Furniture items include bedding, mattresses, car seats, wood chairs, furniture designed for offices, kitchens, chandeliers, and lamps. A full list can be found at the bottom of this page.
The Hardwood Federation also reported - although unconfirmed - that China may implement an exclusion process, which would provide Chinese importers of U.S. goods the opportunity for relief on certain products.
The June 1 start date is so both sides have more time to negotiate. Trump said he is fine with the China retaliation as long as it doesn't surpass a certain level. The stock market took a hit after the announcement.
"I love the position we're in," Trump said from the Oval Office. "I think it's working out really well."
Photo by Statista
In early December, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to 90-day halt of a tariff increase from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese exports. In the handshake deal, Trump promised the U.S. would hold off on the 25 percent tariffs scheduled for January 1 and China "agreed to an unspecified increase in their purchases of American industrial, energy and agricultural products."
If an agreement couldn't be reached by March 1, the 25 percent tariffs were to be back on. These are the tariffs that ended up going into effect last week.
We surveyed more than 200 of our readers to find out how they are being affected by the tariffs. A total of 85 percent of survey respondents expect to raise prices in response.
Data from China's Customs Department show the value of wood products trade between China and the U.S. fell 16 percent in March 2018. China's imports also dropped by 5 percent, though overall first quarter showed a 9 percent increase in Chinese exports of wood products: China's imports rose 6 percent to $2.28 billion during the period, while its exports to the U.S. rose 10 percent to $3.98 billion.
Raising tariffs will hurt both US & China economies + more importantly will hurt US farmers/consumers/businesses Enough is enough China needs to negotiate seriously & quit moving the goalpost Enforceable trade deal needed for certainty
Cailin Birch, global economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, said she still expects the U.S. and China to reach a limited trade agreement in the next month or so because of the serious economic ramifications both countries will be dealing with otherwise.
"However, a cooling-off period may be necessary to allow each party to save face, before meaningful progress can be made," she said. "And without a doubt, the risk that a deal will fail to materialize has risen considerably, now that trust has been eroded on both sides."
The Chinese announced the tariffs shortly after Trump warned them not to take any action and urged President Xi to sign a new trade deal.
"I say openly to President Xi & all of my many friends in China that China will be hurt very badly if you don't make a deal because companies will be forced to leave China for other countries," Trump tweeted early Monday.
"Too expensive to buy in China," he added. "You had a great deal, almost completed, & you backed out!"
Trade talks between the two countries stalled Friday without a new deal after Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25% from 10%, including office furniture, handbags and frozen catfish fillets, after trade talks between the two countries stalled.
The U.S. Trade Representative's Office also has started the process of levying tariffs on another $325 billion in Chinese goods, a move that would mean that virtually every Chinese import that enters the U.S. will be subject to a levy.
Just hours after President Trump warned China not to retaliate against the U.S.'s latest tariff hike on Twitter, the Chinese Ministry of Finance did just that by raising the tariffs on thousands of American products worth roughly $60 billion in annual imports. Going into effect on June 1, the Chinese tariff hike is a direct response to the Trump administration's decision to raise the tariff rate on $200 billion worth of imports from China from 10 to 25 percent on Friday, just hours after trade talks between the two countries had broken down.
The U.S. is expected to respond to the Chinese announcement by levying an additional 25 percent on all remaining imports from China later on Monday, marking another escalation in the trade war that has been dragging on for more than a year now. Trump has repeatedly voiced his discontent with the trade imbalance between the world's two largest economies, stating that the U.S. is being ripped off and losing hundreds of billions of dollars on Chinese trade every year. And while the U.S. trade deficit with China did in fact reach a record high of $419 billion in 2018, that money is neither lost nor is the large trade deficit necessarily a bad thing for the United States. In fact, the latest increase in the deficit is a sign of strength, as a strong U.S. economy and a strong dollar boost demand for Chinese goods in the U.S.
The full list of wood products affected:
Wood and articles of wood
Non-coniferous wood chips or wood pellets 44012200
Sawdust, wood waste and debris, unbonded 44014000
Other charcoal, whether or not agglomerated 44029000
Softwood logs treated with preservatives 44031100
Pinus koraiensis and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica with cross-section dimensions of 15 cm and above 44032110
Larch logs, with a cross-section of 15 cm or more 44032130
Other fir and spruce logs, cross-sections up to 15 cm 44032400
Beech (Oak) logs 44039100
Birch logs with a cross-section of 15 cm or more 44039500
Poplar logs 44039700
Beech logs 44039800
Other unlisted temperate non-coniferous logs 44039980
Other logs other than coniferous wood, tropical wood treated by other methods 44039990
Wood and wood flour 44050000
Longitudinal, slit, planed or rotary cut pine and pine wood with a thickness of more than 6 mm 44071110
Longitudinal sawing, slitting, planing or rotary cutting of radiata pine wood with a thickness of more than 6 mm 44071120
Longitudinal, slit, planed or cut-cut fir and spruce for thickness over 6 mm 44071200
Teak wood, longitudinally sawing, slitting, planing or cutting, whether or not planed, sanded or end-joined Combined, thickness over 6 mm 44072910
Bologna wood, longitudinally sawed, slitted, sliced ​​or cut, whether flattened, sanded or ended Bonding, thickness over 6 mm 44072930
Other tropical wood timber, by longitudinal sawing, slitting, slicing or cutting, whether or not planed, Sanding or end jointing, thickness over 6 mm 44072990
Oak ( oak) wood, longitudinally sawing, slitting, planing or cutting, whether or not planed, sanded Or end joints, thickness greater than 6 mm 44079100
Phytosanaceae (beech) wood, longitudinally sawed, slitted, sliced ​​or cut, whether or not Flat, sanded or end joined, thickness over 6 mm 44079200
Birch wood, longitudinally sawing, slitting, planing or cutting, whether or not planed, sanded or end-joined Combined, thickness over 6 mm 44079600
Other mahogany wood, by longitudinal sawing, slitting, slicing or cutting, whether or not planed, sanded or end 44079910
Other softwood veneers not exceeding 6 mm thick 44081090
Other veneer veneer veneers not exceeding 6 mm in thickness 44083119
Other veneer of tropical wood veneer of non-red liu Anmu, whether planed, sanded, spliced ​​or end Joint joint, thickness not exceeding 6 mm 44083919
Other veneer of tropical wood, not tiling, whether flattened, sanded, spliced ​​or End joint, thickness not exceeding 6 mm 44083990
Other temperate non-coniferous veneer veneers, whether planed, sanded, spliced ​​or end Bonding, thickness not exceeding 6 mm 44089021
Other temperate non-coniferous wood, whether planed, sanded, spliced ​​or joined, thick 44089091
Other non-coniferous wood made of continuous shape on either side, end or side (including unfilled 44092990
Wooden particle board, whether or not bonded with resin or other organic binder 44101100
Wood Oriented Strand Board (OSB), whether or not bonded with resin or other organic binders 44101200
Other wooden similar panels (eg, waffle panels), whether or not resin or other organic binders 44101900
Medium density wood fibreboard with a thickness not exceeding 5 mm, density exceeding 0.8 g per cubic centimeter, not 44111211
Medium density wood fibreboard, more than 5 mm thick but not exceeding 9 mm, density exceeding cubic centimeters 44111319
Medium density wood fibreboard with a thickness of more than 9 mm, density exceeding 0.8 g per cubic centimeter, machine 44111419
Medium-density wood fibreboard with a thickness of more than 9 mm radiated, with a density exceeding every cubic centimeter 44111421
Other medium-density wood fibre boards of more than 9 mm thickness, density exceeding 0.5 g per cubic centimeter, 44111429
Other medium density wood fibreboards of more than 9 mm thickness, machined or covered 44111499
Other wood fibreboard, density exceeding 0.8 g per cubic centimeter, not machined or covered 44119210
Other wood fibreboard, density exceeding 0.8 g per cubic centimeter, machined or covered 44119290
Other wood fibreboards, density exceeding 0.5 g per cubic centimeter, but not exceeding 0.8 per cubic centimeter 44119390
Other wood fibreboards, density exceeding 0.35 g per cubic centimeter, but not exceeding 0.5 per cubic centimeter 44119410
Other bamboo plywood made of slab, not exceeding 6 mm thick 44121019
At least one of the surface layers is tropical wood, each layer not exceeding 6 mm thick, only made of thin wood 44123100
The other at least one surface layer is the following non-coniferous wood: eucalyptus, ash, Cyclobalanopsis (beech) 44123300
Other at least one surface layer is temperate non-coniferous wood (except for non-coniferous wood of subheading 4412.3300) 44123410
Other at least one surface is non-coniferous not specified in subheadings 4412.3300 and 4412.3410 44123490
Other upper and lower layers are coniferous, each layer not exceeding 6 mm in thickness, only made of thin wood 44123900
At least one surface is non-coniferous wood core plywood, side slat core plywood and lath core 44129410
At least one other wooden veneer with non-coniferous wood 44129910
Other wooden multi-layer boards 44129999
Fortified wood in blocks, plates, strips or profiles 44130000
Wooden boxes, boxes, crates, drums and similar packaging containers, cable reels 44151000
Other wooden pallets, box pallets and other wooden pallets or other wooden pallets 44152090
Other wooden tools, tool holders, tool holders, brooms and brushes, and wooden handles, and hoe 44170090
Other wooden windows, French-style (floor) windows and wooden frames 44181090
Wooden doors and their frames and sills 44182000
Wooden columns and beams 44186000
Other assembled multi-layer floors 44187500
Other wood products for construction 44189900
Woodcut figurines and other decorations 44201011
Other wooden and bamboo figurines and other decorations 44201090
Jewelry or knives wooden boxes and similar articles; non-floor wooden furniture 44209090
Wooden hangers 44211000
Bamboo round sticks, round bars, ice fruit sticks, tabs and similar disposable products 44219110
Other unlisted wood products 44219990
Granular or powdered cork (softwood, cork or cork) 45019020
Natural cork stopper 45031000
Blocks, plates, sheets, strips, solid cylinders, discs or pressed bricks of brick or tile of any shape 45041000
Other pressed cork and its products 45049000
Bamboo mats, mats and curtains 46012100
Baskets and other products 46021910
Baskets and other products, prepared from other plant materials 46021990
Other products of non-plant braiding materials 46029000
Other fibrous cellulose chemical pulp
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Robert Dalheim
Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at robert.dalheim@woodworkingnetwork.com.