October tariff data from Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) indicates that overall tariffs collected on a range of outdoor products surpassed the $1 billion mark for the second consecutive month in October.

Additionally, since the trade war began in 2018, outdoor businesses have paid an additional $2.7 billion in punitive Section 301 tariffs and the phase-one deal keeps many of those tariffs intact.

These latest numbers come despite the recent announcement that the United States and China reached a Phase One trade deal.

The October data show a continued and significant impact from the 15 percent Section 301 tariffs (List 4A) imposed by the Trump administration on September 1 of this year on a range of consumer goods used by Americans to enjoy the outdoors, including hiking boots, ski jackets and tents.

The tariff data released today on this group of goods showed that outdoor companies paid:

  • More than $60 million in additional tariffs on outdoor apparel compared to last year (Oct. 2018 vs. Oct. 2019)
  • Over $100 million in additional tariffs on outdoor equipment (Oct. 2018 vs. Oct. 2019)
  • Nearly $50 million in additional tariffs on outdoor footwear (Oct. 2018 vs. Oct. 2019)

Some of these products already faced some of the highest tariff rates on imports from China. For example, before the new punitive tariff on goods sourced from China went into effect, a pair of hiking boots faced a 37.5 percent tariff—but now has a tariff rate of 52.5 percent.

The new data comes as the president announced that, as a part of the phase-one deal, the United States would postpone indefinitely a new round of punitive tariffs that was slated to come into effect on December 15 on outdoor apparel footwear and equipment and roll back existing punitive tariffs on the Sept. 1 group of outdoor products from 15 percent to 7.5 percent. The timing of that tariff reduction is still unclear.

“The latest tariff data continues to show that American outdoor companies have experienced significant economic hardship as a result of punitive taxes piled on already high tariffs for many outdoor products. And the recent phase-one deal fails to fully wipe away the burden that tariffs are adding to outdoor businesses,” said Patricia Rojas-Ungar, vice president of government affairs at Outdoor Industry Association.  “We hope the recent move marks a turnaround with China and that we soon see a comprehensive deal to include a complete rollback of all existing punitive tariffs on outdoor products. Our industry – one of America’s strongest – is anxious to begin digging out of this avalanche of tariffs we’ve been buried under.”

OIA will continue to update and release the industry’s tariff payments as the U.S.-China trade war wears on so that the administration, Congress and American consumers are aware of the real-world impacts on American outdoor companies. Stay tuned for more info, but we continue to call on the administration and China to conclude a deal and lift all punitive tariffs immediately.