According to a press release, the data shows that outdoor companies and consumers paid an extra $1.1 billion due to new tariffs in the period from September 2018, when tariffs went into effect. The tariffs have been placed on outdoor equipment, including backpacks, camp stoves, camp chairs, hats and bikes. The data also found that increases on existing tariffs and additional threatened tariffs will cost the outdoor industry an additional $1.5 billion every month.
“Tariffs on products vital to America’s outdoor recreation economy, which supports 7.6 million American jobs, are sapping the strength of one of our nation’s most important industries,” said Patricia Rojas-Ungar, vice president of government affairs for the Outdoor Industry Association. “These are significant taxes on an industry that fuels economic growth and healthy communities across America. To date, these tariffs have caused so much unpredictability for outdoor companies that many have had to slow or cancel job-creating investments and have resulted in higher costs for businesses in every corner of the country.
“As bad as over $1 billion in new taxes has been, the worst is on the way in the form of a recent increase of the tariffs to 25 percent and threatened tariffs on over $60 billion more in outdoor goods.”
In addition to the List 3 tariffs already in place, the administration has also threatened, but not yet imposed, tariffs on an additional $300 billion or “List 4” products at a rate of 25%. rom September to April 2018, imports of outdoor products on List 4 totaled $61 billion compared to about $14 billion in imports of products on List 3 products. In total, the data found that 25% across-the-board tariffs on both List 3 and List 4 could result in $1.5 billion in extra tariffs per month on outdoor products from China in the coming months.
