The Trump administration raised tariffs on $200 billion in imported products from China at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday May 10th, 2019, significantly raising the stakes in the ongoing trade dispute with Beijing. Until last weekend, it appeared that a deal was in sight. But U.S. officials said this week that China had backtracked on commitments it had made earlier. They didn’t specify what the commitments were. As a result, the Trump administration said it would increase existing tariffs on $200 billion worth of consumer and business products to 25% from 10%. So far, the U.S. has slapped tariffs on $250 billion total in Chinese products. Beijing has put duties on $110 billion in U.S. goods.
Under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, if the Secretary of Commerce determines that “an article is being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security,” then the President is authorized to take certain “actions necessary to adjust the imports of such article.”
Are fastener prices going to increase across the board? Once thing is for sure, the next weeks and months will bring a lot of changes, new threads, and opportunities.
At Goebel Fasteners, Inc. we believe in working hard every day to make sure to stay ahead of the curve. Over the past year we have continuously expanded our network of distribution partners across the U.S. and simultaneously grown inventory in our Houston, TX warehouse facility. Our manufacturing facilities are located overseas but we see tremendous potential for growing our market share in the U.S. – tariffs or no tariffs!
