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Section 301 Tariffs
October 1, 2019
On three tranches beginning on July 6, 2018, as mandated by the U.S. Trade Representative under Section 301, a 25% tariff was imposed on a subset of electronic components and modules manufactured in China and imported into the United States. Symmetry Electronics made the decision to delay billing customers for these new tariffs until the details were complete and the impact could be better understood – since July 6, 2018, Symmetry has absorbed all Section 301-related tariffs incurred.
Our Suppliers have been working to establish a fair and equitable method to assess the tariffs without disclosing proprietary pricing formulas. Most suppliers have opted to mitigate the effect of the tariff by charging Symmetry using a separate line item on the invoice based on our current purchase price, not the suppliers’ import cost. Those charges have ranged from no current charge up to 25% on our purchase price.
On 8/23/2019 The USTR (U.S. Trade Representative) announced the following two changes regarding tariffs:
- As of September 1, 2019 “List 4 tariffs” will be increasing from 10% to 15%.
- On October 1, 2019 “List 1-3 tariffs” at 25% will be increasing to 30%.
In response to these evolving trade shifts, and in order to help minimize our customers supply chain disruptions, Symmetry Electronics has incorporated a 2-fold proactive approach that is simple, fair, and equitable. First and foremost, we are keeping our product prices separate from all government mandated tariffs. Second, new tariff fees that began on September 1, 2019 will be absorbed by Symmetry for 30 days and reflected on our customers October 1, 2019 invoices. We want to continue to ensure that our customers have more time to prepare for these challenging and impactful circumstances.
AS A REMINDER: SYMMETRY WILL BEGIN BILLING THE NEW SECTION 301 TARIFFS* ON OCTOBER 1, 2019
(*There are NO SECTION 301 TARIFFS for customers in countries OUTSIDE of the USA)
Beginning with shipments made on October 1, 2019, Symmetry will bill Section 301 tariff charges at a flat rate reflecting those of our suppliers. We will require a Purchase Order revision to add a separate line item for the tariff amount. Symmetry remains the industry leader in communicating our decision not to charge the tariff to our export customers, and we continue that commitment going forward by not charging tariffs on products delivered outside the United States.
For more information please visit the following website: https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/section-301-china/34-billion-trade-action
NO SECTION 301 TARIFFS FOR CUSTOMERS IN MEXICO AND CANADA
Symmetry was the industry leader in communicating our decision not to charge the tariff to our export customers, and we continue that commitment going forward by not charging tariffs on products delivered outside the United States. Tariff charges will only be assessed on products intended for domestic consumption. Product delivered to Mexico, Canada and other export destinations will either be submitted for duty drawback as allowed under Section 301, or processed as applicable through our Foreign Trade Zone in Fort Worth as a duty-exempt export.
Our primary objective is to minimize supply chain disruption and to support your requirements at the highest levels. We hope that our decision to delay the billing of Section 301 tariffs gave you more time to prepare for the impact, and that you will find our billing calculation to reflect an equitable approach to this extraordinary situation.