China 301 Tariff Costs Joint Association Study

Impacts of Section 301 Tariffs on Imports from China: Case Studies of Apparel, Footwear, Travel Goods and Furniture 

Executive Summary  

In August 2017, the United States began an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 of China’s technology and intellectual property related practices that the United States believed adversely affected U.S. businesses. In 2018 the United States concluded that China was failing to make changes to those policies and practices and that punitive tariffs of up to 25% should be imposed.  

Along with many raw materials and industrial products, thousands of tariff lines for consumer goods were included on the tariff lists. With few exceptions, those tariffs continue to affect imports of these products to this day; direct tariff costs to date exceed $166 billion. Of particular interest to American families are Section 301 tariffs applied to U.S. imports from China of apparel, footwear, travel goods and furniture, which were first imposed in 2018 and 2019.  

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