Reports this morning in the New York Times say that the U.S. and China have reached a trade deal. The immediate upshot, according to these reports, is that tariffs on good landed in the U.S. from China will come down to 45 percent.
This is down more than half from the 100 percent tariff that was due to go into effect on November 1.
Key to this development has been China’s willingness to pause for one year restrictions on the export of rare earth materials required for magnets, etc.
There is still a long way to go. Nicholas Kristoff in a recent column explained some of the complexities of the relationship between the U.S. and China and what some of the longer-term implications may be, particularly in terms of the power dynamics between the two nations.
Even so, there is a bit of relief for toymakers, though consumers will continue to pay the tariffs as an added tax on purchases, and in the context of the mercurial way in which tariffs have been imposed, the current agreements are not yet codified as a deal.
