United States Temporarily Adjusts Reciprocal Tariffs for Products from China

The United States and China announced today an agreement for a 90 day adjustment of reciprocal tariffs. The details we know so far are as follows can be found on the White House published fact sheet. The key facts are:

Effective date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
The 90 day adjustment isn’t formally effective until Wednesday, May 14, 2025. We don’t know if the U.S. government will make these actions retroactive. There have been a month worth of shipments that have been subject to the 125% tariff at this point. We are still waiting for clarification on this issue. We have to assume right now that until May 14, 2025, we have to continue to use the 125% tariff rate for products from China.

Importers with goods that have arrived or are about to arrive may want to instruct our team to see if it’s possible to wait until May 14, 2025 to submit the entry. However importers need to consider potential storage charges for waiting.

Keep in mind that this is only a 90 day pause. Importers should put August 12, 2025 on their calendars as the end date for this pause.

What tariff will products from China be subject to during this “pause”?
The reciprocal tariff for products from China will be reduced to 10% during this 90 day period. However, importers should keep in mind that they still have to pay the other tariffs that are placed on products from China. Here is the potential list:

base tariff (Most Favored Nation duties) – this tariff will vary by HTS classification
Antidumping/countervailing tariffs: if the product is subject to AD/CVD
Section 301 tariffs (either 25% or 7.5% depending on the HTS classification).
IEEPA Fentanyl Tariff: 20%
Reciprocal Tariff: 10% OR if the product is subject to a Section 232 tariff (steel, aluminum auto parts), the product will be subject to a 25% section 232 tariff.

This is all the information that has been formally published as of this morning. We will send out updates as soon as we receive more information.

In the meantime, please be prepared for shipping congestion over the next few months to be extremely heavy as importers rush to get their goods in before the 90 day pause ends.