Chinese Laptop Imports Spiked 38% in June; ITI Mum Whether Tariff Threat Was a Factor
The Information Technology Industry Council didn’t comment Monday when asked whether June’s huge spike in imports of Chinese laptops from May could have been indicative of U.S. importers rushing to beat the List 4 Section 301 tariffs after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the threat mid-May (see 1905140025).
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Trade experts said supply-chain activity to meet the anticipated back-to-school demand was another possible factor in the June surge of Chinese laptop imports. Industry awaits USTR’s publication of the final List 4 to see if laptops, smartphones, TVs and other tech products escape or face exposure to the 10 percent tariffs that President Donald Trump said will take effect Sept. 1 (see 1908010059).
The U.S. imported 10.8 million laptops from China in June under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s 8471.30.01 product code, according to just-released Census Bureau trade data accessed Monday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. That’s nearly a 38 percent spike from the 7.8 million shipped here in May and a 49.1 percent increase from the 7.2 million imported in June 2018, the data show. The customs value of the average laptop shipped to the U.S. from China in June declined 13.8 percent from May to $375.21, well below the $437.62 average for 2019's first six months.
Other large tech product category imports originating in China also showed unit spikes in June from May, though none nearly as much as the increase in laptops, said DataWeb. Chinese exports of Bluetooth headphones, smart speakers, smartwatches and fitness trackers shipped to the U.S. under the HTS 8517.62.00.90 tariff code jumped 12.4 percent in the month to 10.8 million. Comparisons with May and June a year earlier aren’t possible because USTR created that special 10-digit code to exempt consumer products from List 3 when 10 percent tariffs were applied Sept. 24 on the broader categories of industrial IT goods under HTS 8517.62.00.
U.S. imports of finished TVs from China (HTS 8528.72.64) jumped 7.7 percent in June from May to 1.47 million sets, said DataWeb. TV shipments from China were up 8.3 percent from June 2018, when imports actually declined 1.3 percent from a month earlier.
Trade experts said it's too soon to speculate if the mid-May tariff threat had any influence on June import patterns. Several said it's also worth noting that Chinese imports of other goods -- including smartphones, the largest tech dollar category facing List 4 tariff exposure -- declined in June from May. The U.S. imported 12.3 percent fewer smartphones from China in June than in May, said DataWeb. June smartphone shipments from China also were 7.2 percent lower than in June 2018.
A 10 percent List 4 tariff would have added $41.17 in cost hypothetically to the customs value of the average notebook computer exported to the U.S. from China in the second quarter, according to DataWeb. Other hypothetical cost increases to the average import: (1) Smartphones, $24.13; (2) TVs, $20.89; (3) PC monitors, $14.67; (4) Smartwatches and Bluetooth headphones, $12.32.