WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The U.S Trade Representative has granted tariff exclusions to two more categories of kids bikes from China. Combined with other exclusions granted late last year, now all bikes with wheels from 12-inch through 24-inch diameter are exempt from the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in September 2018.
The additional tariff on those bikes was 25%, it now reverts to the 11% tariff in place before the administration's trade war with China.
Several importers and trade groups had requested the exclusion, which was dated Dec. 31, 2019. The exclusion means importers should be able to recover the additional tariffs they've been paying.
Alex Logemann, policy counsel for PeopleForBikes, said, "We are very pleased that these new exclusion requests have been granted and will provide complete relief for kid's bikes from the Section 301 tariffs. We estimate that the three collective kid's bikes exclusions will enable the industry recover more than $62 million dollars in tariffs that have already been paid, and they could be worth more than $100 million over the next year if the tariffs remain in effect."
Arnold Kamler, chairman and CEO of Kent, a major importer of kids bikes from China, called the move "great news for our customers and for consumers."
The USTR also granted an exclusion to at least some bike saddles from China. The exclusion is granted to "Bicycle saddles, each having a cover of plastics, man-made textile fabrics or a combination of the two (described in statistical reporting number 8714.95.0000)."
And it notified Bell Sports that it had granted an exclusion, which Bell requested, for hand or foot pumps. The exclusion language is very specific, however, so it's not clear how many bike pumps meet the description, which is: "Hand- or foot-operated air pumps, each weighing 400 g or more but not over 3 kg, with a maximum pressure of 1.52 MPa, imported with adapters for valves for tires and inner tubes (described in statistical reporting number 8414.20.0000)."
