Toys and playing cards top the US list for lower China tariffs, but no date is set

The United States and China have each named about $30 billion of goods for lower tariffs, and toys are the largest group on the American list. The lists were published on September 27 through the Board of Trade that the two governments set up in May. Nothing has changed at the border yet, and no start date has been announced.

The American list has 77 tariff lines of Chinese goods. Toys account for about $9.8 billion of the roughly $30 billion in imports it covers, according to The Toy Association. China's Commerce Ministry said tariffs on more than 90% of the listed products would return to ordinary most favored nation rates. For most toys the ordinary American rate is zero, so the saving could be substantial. Washington has not yet confirmed the final rates.

The List Includes:

• Toys under code 9503. This covers plush, dolls, toy figures and puzzles. Connected toys with radio, network or Bluetooth functions are excluded.
• Playing cards under code 9504.40, along with some table and arcade game articles.
• Household and seasonal goods. Christmas ornaments, fireworks, sports balls, small kitchen appliances, plastic tableware, and bed and table linen.
• Not on the list. Clothing does not appear, and neither does 9504.90.60, the code used for most board games. Chips, batteries and electric vehicles were left out as sensitive.

The full list is published by the White House as the US imports list.

What it means for buyers

• Nothing has changed yet. Before any cut takes effect, the United States must run a public comment process, and its timing has not been released. Today's tariffs apply to everything shipping now.
• Check your tariff code. Relief follows the code, not the product name. Ask your customs broker which code your product ships under before you count on a saving.
• Budget at today's rates. Treat a cut as a bonus if it arrives. Holding an order for a date that does not exist risks missing your production slot before Lunar New Year.
• Watch January 10. The wider tariff truce between the two countries now runs to January 10, 2027, and terms could change again after that.
• The lists can change. Both governments said the lists may be revised later, probably no more than once a year.

This article is general information and not customs advice.

Top image: tookapic, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Source: The White House and The Toy Association