On May 20, the Trump administration announced that it would suspend the proposed tariffs on products from China. The proposed tariffs, which included a 25% tariff on brewing equipment and kegs, were announced in early April by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). At that time, the Section 301 list targeted products from China valued at approximately $150 billion. China responded by issuing a list of tariffs against $50 billion in U.S. goods, including soybeans and small aircraft.

The United States and China have mutually agreed to suspend their proposed tariffs. The two countries have been in negotiations over tariffs, which had not yet been implemented, for the past month. Negotiations are ongoing and have no set timeline. Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin has said that if the negotiations aren’t successful, “the president can always put tariffs back on,” a sentiment echoed by other officials in the administration.

This development does not impact the 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum that resulted from the administration’s 232 investigation, which went into effect on March 23, 2018.

The Brewers Association will continue to monitor this issue and alert our members as more information is made available. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to BA federal affairs manager Katie Marisic.