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How Much Are Tariffs on Chinese Goods? It’s Trickier Than You Think.

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How Much Are Tariffs on Chinese Goods? It’s Trickier Than You Think.

The escalating trade war between the United States and China has created deep uncertainty for U.S. companies that rely on Chinese suppliers. Retaliations in recent days by the two countries have resulted in huge average tax rates on each other’s imports, with tariffs often costing more than the price of the goods themselves.

But because of an ever-changing patchwork of trade rules, not every product will be charged an astronomical tariff, trade lawyers, customs brokers and importers say. In some cases, tariffs will pile on other tariffs. In other instances, they can reduce costs, while other times they can cancel out new ones.

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The new 125 percent rate that President Trump imposed will in many cases be added on top of long-existing duties. There are four main categories of tariffs that are imposed on goods from China.

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Note: The tariff on auto parts comes into effect in early May. The average provided for the base rate is calculated by the World Trade Organization, which computes an average of all tariff lines. A large share of U.S. imports are assigned a 0% duty, but there are some very high rates in the tariff schedule.

Rates ultimately depend on what is imported, what materials are used (from where), which special rates are applied and what sorts of products are exempt.

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New tariff rates on select goods from China

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Note: Rates are rounded to the nearest whole number. The rates are calculated assuming metal furniture made of 100 percent aluminum and door hinges made of 50 percent aluminum.

Understanding which tariffs will apply and which ones won’t will ultimately determine what businesses choose to buy, how they’ll factor in the new costs — if they can even afford them — and what they may ultimately pass on to their customers.

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“Companies are scrambling to mitigate their tariff exposure, particularly those with supply chains involving China,” said Richard A. Mojica, a customs lawyer at Miller & Chevalier. “But there are only a few levers they can pull.”

Here is how the import duties on certain goods from China add up:

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  • 0%

    Base tariff

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  • 20%

    Fentanyl” tariff

The United States imported nearly $52 billion worth of smartphones in 2024 — more than 80 percent of it from China. Smartphones from the country were originally subject to a duty of up to 145 percent, but customs guidance issued late Friday exempted laptops and smartphones from the 125 percent reciprocal tariff on most Chinese goods. The devices are still subject to new import taxes introduced earlier this year.

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  • 0%

    Base tariff

  • 100%

    Pre-2025 extra tariff

  • 20%

    Fentanyl” tariff

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  • 125%

    Reciprocal” tariff

Syringes and needles are charged some of the highest tariff rates. These items are among the Chinese goods targeted initially by the first Trump administration and then subject to increases under Mr. Biden. His administration levied a 100 percent tariff on syringes and needles last September as a part of an effort to protect American factories and show a tough-on-China stance.

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These types of tariffs on Chinese goods can range from 7.5 percent up to 100 percent and apply to clothing, solar panels, electric vehicles and other goods that China has been accused of selling at far lower prices than many American businesses do.

With this week’s tariffs included, American importers will now have to pay a 245 percent tariff — or roughly 2½ times the cost of the product itself.

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Over three-quarters of toys imported into the United States come from China, making it America’s biggest supplier. Previously, things like tricycles, stuffed animals, dolls and puzzles could enter the country duty free. Now, all these items are charged a 145 percent import tax. Retail prices for these items are expected to rise significantly.

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Many goods have a category-specific tariff that applies regardless of the country of origin. For wool sweaters, that is 16 percent. They are also on the list of goods subject to an additional tariff introduced during Mr. Trump’s first term. For the $170 million worth of wool sweaters that came into the United States from China last year, the tariff rate was roughly 24 percent — which at the time was considered relatively high.

Now, with tariffs from February intended to punish China over the flow of fentanyl into the United States and with this week’s “reciprocal” round, the import tax for sweaters has significantly jumped.

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Note: For this example, we assume that the chair is 100% aluminum.

Before Mr. Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on all foreign steel and aluminum parts in March, there was already a levy on some Chinese metal imports — all part of a protectionist effort to bolster domestic manufacturing. But Mr. Trump’s new tariffs significantly expanded what will be taxed: Not just steel beams or aluminum rods, but a wide range of products that contain aluminum and steel components.

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While most U.S. imports of these metals are from other countries, including Canada, China supplies many products that have metal components.

Aluminum and steel products are exempted from this week’s “reciprocal” tariffs, which reduces the effective tax rate of Chinese steel and aluminum products to lower than that of many other goods.

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Note: For this example, we assume that the door hinge is 50% aluminum.

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New tariffs of 25 percent also apply to all imported cars, and starting in May, car parts. Some car parts, like door hinges, fall under both the car parts tariff and the aluminum tariff. In this case, an importer would not only have to pay a duty on the value of the aluminum in the part, but also an additional tariff on the value of the entire product.

Because this item is subject to the aluminum and car parts tariffs, it is exempted from the China-specific reciprocal tariff.

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On the other end of the cost spectrum are books. Ninety-three percent of the nearly $600 million in children’s books that the United States imports each year comes from China. Children’s books typically enter the United States duty free.

“Informational materials” are one of the very few classes of goods that are exempt from new tariffs on China this year.

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Do you have a business that relies on Chinese suppliers? Tell us how the tariffs are affecting you.

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The New York Times wants to talk to business owners about President Trump’s imposition of additional tariffs on imports from China. We’ll read each questionnaire response. We will not publish any part of your response without talking with you further. We will not share your contact information outside The Times newsroom, and we will use it only to contact you.

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Video: How Staffing Shortages Have Plagued Newark Airport

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Video: How Staffing Shortages Have Plagued Newark Airport

What’s causing major flight delays and disruptions at Newark Liberty International Airport? Niraj Chokshi, a reporter at The New York Times covering transportation, explains how a staffing shortage has contributed to the chaos and what’s being done to address it.

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L.A. council members were told a vote could violate public meeting law. They voted anyway

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L.A. council members were told a vote could violate public meeting law. They voted anyway

When Los Angeles City Council members took up a plan to hike the wages of tourism workers this week, they received some carefully worded advice from city lawyers: Don’t vote on this yet.

Senior Assistant City Atty. Michael J. Dundas advised them on Wednesday — deep into their meeting — that his office had not yet conducted a final legal review of the flurry of last-minute changes they requested earlier in the day.

Dundas recommended that the council delay its vote for two days to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law.

“We advise that the posted agenda for today’s meeting provides insufficient notice under the Brown Act for first consideration and adoption of an ordinance to increase the wages and health benefits for hotel and airport workers,” Dundas wrote.

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The council pressed ahead anyway, voting 12-3 to increase the minimum wage of those workers to $30 per hour by 2028, despite objections from business groups, hotel owners and airport businesses.

Then, on Friday, the council conducted a do-over vote, taking up the rewritten wage measure at a special noon meeting — one called only the day before. The result was the same, with the measure passing again, 12-3.

Some in the hotel industry questioned why Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who runs the meetings, insisted on moving forward Wednesday, even after the lawyers’ warning.

Jackie Filla, president and chief executive of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, said the decision to proceed Wednesday gave a political boost to Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers. The union had already scheduled an election for Thursday for its members to vote on whether to increase their dues.

By approving the $30 per hour minimum wage on Wednesday, the council gave the union a potent selling point for the proposed dues increase, Filla said.

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“It looks like it was in Unite Here’s financial interest to have that timing,” she said.

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who opposed the wage increases, was more blunt.

“It was clear that Marqueece intended to be as helpful as possible” to Unite Here Local 11, “even if it meant violating the Brown Act,” she said.

Harris-Dawson spokesperson Rhonda Mitchell declined to say why her boss pushed for a wage vote on Wednesday after receiving the legal advice about the Brown Act. That law requires local governments to take additional public comment if a legislative proposal has changed substantially during a meeting.

Mitchell, in a text message, said Harris-Dawson scheduled the new wage vote for Friday because of a mistake by city lawyers.

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“The item was re-agendized because of a clerical error on the City Attorney’s part — and this is the correction,” she said.

Mitchell did not provide details on the error. However, the wording on the two meeting agendas is indeed different.

Wednesday’s agenda called for the council to ask city lawyers to “prepare and present” amendments to the wage laws. Friday’s agenda called for the council to “present and adopt” the proposed changes.

Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 11, said in an email that her union does not control the City Council’s schedule. The union’s vote on higher dues involved not just its L.A. members but also thousands of workers in Orange County and Arizona, Hernandez said.

“The timing of LA City Council votes is not up to us (sadly!) — in fact we were expecting a vote more than a year ago — nor would the precise timing be salient to our members,” she said.

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Hernandez said Unite Here Local 11 members voted “overwhelmingly” on Thursday to increase their dues, allowing the union to double the size of its strike fund and pay for “an army of organizers” for the next round of labor talks. She did not disclose the size of the dues increase.

Dundas’ memo, written on behalf of City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, was submitted late in Wednesday’s deliberations, after council members requested a number of changes to the minimum wage ordinance. At one point, they took a recess so their lawyers could work on the changes.

By the time the lawyers emerged with the new language, Dundas’ memo was pinned to the public bulletin board in the council chamber, where spectators quickly snapped screenshots.

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Epic Games says Apple blocked 'Fortnite' in U.S. app store

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Epic Games says Apple blocked 'Fortnite' in U.S. app store

Epic Games on Friday said that its popular game “Fortnite” will be offline on Apple devices because the iPhone maker blocked its recent app update.

The dispute comes just weeks after Epic Games and other app developers cheered a judge’s ruling that limited the commissions that Apple makes through third party apps distributed through its app store.

Apple received a scathing rebuke from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who sided with Epic Games, which alleged that the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant ran afoul of an order she issued in 2021 after finding the company engaged in anticompetitive behavior.

Under the ruling, Apple can’t collect commissions on purchases U.S. customers make through links inside iPhone apps that direct them to outside websites. Developers, which make money by selling digital goods and services via their apps and games, want to avoid giving Apple a cut of their revenue by sending customers to other websites.

“That [Apple] thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” the judge wrote in her ruling.

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Many developers applauded the court’s ruling, which limits what they call the Apple tax, and said they would pass on the savings to customers.

Epic Games’ Chief Executive Tim Sweeney earlier this month said “Fornite” would return to the App Store in the U.S. and possibly worldwide if Apple extends “the court’s friction free, Apple tax-free framework” globally. But on Friday, the “Fortnite” X account said that Apple blocked its submission.

“Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it,” the account posted. Epic Games did not return requests for further comment.

Apple said on Friday that it asked that “Epic Sweden resubmit the app update without including the U.S. storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.”

“We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces,” Apple said in a statement.

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Rob Enderle, principal analyst with advisory services firm Enderle Group, said the recent ruling applies to the U.S. and Apple wants to retain the rest of its control worldwide. Apple makes significant money through apps.

“Apple is using their … strength to prevent ‘Fortnite’ from benefiting globally from their core win,” Enderle said.

Epic Games filed its lawsuit against Apple in 2020. “Fornite” generates revenue by letting people buy digital goods, such as “skins,” in the game, and Epic wanted to let users buy items outside the Apple system to avoid the company’s commission.

While the judge ruled that Apple did not have a monopoly in the mobile gaming market, the court ordered Apple to let app developers put links in its apps so customers could make outside purchases and bypass the company’s commission fee. Apple, however, defied the order, the court said.

Apple limited the ways that developers could communicate with its customers about out-of-app purchases and used wording that discouraged users from clicking on those links, the judge wrote. Apple would charge a commission fee for any goods or services purchased within seven days of a consumer clicking on a link that took them out of the app, the ruling said.

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Apple is appealing the ruling and has said it strongly disagreed with the judge’s decision.

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