LEDs Escape +10% Tariffs Until Dec. 15

In an Aug. 13 announcement, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) delayed the 10% tariffs on LEDs imported from China until Dec. 15, 2019. Many lighting execs had expected that LED lamps would be on the list of products slated for tariffs on Sept. 1 on the USTR List 4A.
However, some electrical products were included in the 122-page document that listed hundreds of products subject to the tariffs. Deep in the list in between everything from “live birds of prey” to many different types of food, clothing, steel and iron products and other industrial and consumer goods were ballasts for discharge lamps or tubes (HTS Subheading 8504.10.00) and several different types of electrical filament lamps:
•Electrical filament lamps, voltage not exceeding 100V, having glass envelopes n/o 6.35 mm in diameter, suitable in surgical instruments (8539.29.20)
•Electrical filament lamps nesi, designed for a voltage not exceeding 100V, excluding ultraviolet and infrared lamps (8539.29.30)  
•Electrical filament lamps, designed for a voltage exceeding 100V, of a power exceeding 200 (W8539.29.40) 
Along with light-emitting diode (LED) lamps (HTS Subheading 8539.50.00), the lighting and electrical products exempt from the additional 10% tariffs on Chinese imported goods included: 
•Electrical filament lamps of a power not exceeding 200W and for a voltage exceeding 100V nesi, excluding ultraviolet and infrared lamps (8539.22.80) 
•Ceiling fans for permanent installation, with a self-contained electric motor of an output not exceeding 125W (8414.51.30)  
The official USTR press release read in part, “On May 17, 2019, USTR published a list of products imported from China that would be potentially subject to an additional 10% tariff.  This new tariff will go into effect on Sept. 1 as announced by President Trump on Aug. 1.  Certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security and other factors and will not face additional tariffs of 10%.
“Further, as part of USTR’s public comment and hearing process, it was determined that the tariff should be delayed to Dec. 15 for certain articles.  Products in this group include, for example, cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing. 
“USTR intends to conduct an exclusion process for products subject to the additional tariff. The USTR will publish in the Federal Register as soon as possible additional details and lists of the tariff lines affected by this announcement.”
In total, the tariffs would affect about $300 billion in Chinese imported goods.