On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, President Donald Trump posed an unexpected tweet that the United States would be delaying the implementation of the tariff increase from October 1, 2019 to October 15, 2019 as a “gesture of good will” towards China. Originally, President Trump had planned to increase the current 25% tariff rate on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods to 30%. To see previous post on the initial announcement, click here.

….on October 1st, we have agreed, as a gesture of good will, to move the increased Tariffs on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods (25% to 30%), from October 1st to October 15th.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2019

The announcement of the two week delay came just hours after China had stated that they would exempt 16 types of U.S. products from the imposition of tariffs upon importation into China. Currently, China’s retaliatory tariffs are supposed to go into effect on September 17, 2019. To see the list of products that China has temporarily exempted, click here. The two sides are scheduled to resume trade talks next month in Washington, DC.

We will continue to monitor this situation and will provide future updates as developments occur. Please contact Husch Blackwell’s International Trade and Supply Chain team for more information.