What Does a China Trade Deal Mean for Holiday Shopping?
Just before the new round of tariffs was due to take effect, the US and China announced a limited agreement to end the trade war. In the end.
This is a “first round” deal that removes duties on imports of goods produced in China. These tariffs were supposed to be in effect on December 15 and are considered penalty tariffs. These would include smartphones and consumer electronics.
As part of the deal, for goods already subject to a 15% tariff, this tariff will be reduced to 7.5%. Items subject to the 25% rate , including machinery and furniture, will retain this rate.
In exchange, China agreed to make “substantial additional purchases of US goods and services,” the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a statement . Following the announcement of the deal, Trump said he expects China to buy $ 50 billion in agricultural commodities as part of the pledge.
This first phase was announced in October , and while no details were available at the time, Trump suspended plans for further tariff hikes this month.
The two countries are now entering the second phase of negotiations. “As long as China continues to negotiate, the US will not set any new tariffs,” said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
This is great news for consumers, but you might not notice the immediate difference.
When new tranches or tariff sections were introduced, many large stores told their suppliers that they simply would not tolerate price increases. Cause? They were reluctant to raise prices to accommodate additional costs because shoppers were getting so used to the floor prices, especially during the lucrative holiday shopping season. According to a leaked September letter, Target was one of the big companies to make such a demand.
If you shop regularly at small businesses, you are more likely to see a slight drop in prices as the value of their products starts to fall; Small businesses were supposed to feel that the tariff would be stronger because they could not cover the costs like large corporations.
And if you’ve already made your purchases on the holidays, don’t worry – you won’t miss a single sharp markdown. Everything that you see in stores at tariffs has already been taken into account.