Tariff Central: What We're Hearing

As U.S. tariffs are introduced, modified, and interpreted, we're posting what we are learning in this evolving article. 

Want to stay up to speed on tariffs and other pressing issues facing the industry? Register now to attend BISG's 2025 annual meeting, Move Fast and Fix Things, on Friday, April 25. Both in-person and virtual tickets are available.

Wednesday, April 9:  An Overview of the 2025 Tariffs | American Booksellers Association

Books Are Exempt: Because the Trump tariffs were imposed under the IEEPA, “informational materials,” which includes books, are exempt. So there will be no additional tariffs on books sourced from any country, other than those which already existed.  Click here to continue reading.

On April 4, BISG board member Matt Kennell shared this update from JP Morgan explaining the tariffs, how they were calculated, and the immediate impact on stock markets around the world. The analysis is largely macroeconomic, not specific to book publishing, but the post provides useful background on the proposed tariffs.

On April 4, Woodland Group emailed an update on retaliatory tariffs imposed by China in response to proposed changes in the U.S. China's response included:

• 34% retaliatory tariffs (equivalent to Trump’s reciprocal tariff rate against Chinese products) on all US-origin goods, effective from 12:01 on April 10, 2025, currently without any waiving or exempting mechanism.
• Export controls on seven categories of “medium and heavy rare earth elements” and related alloys and materials, effective immediately.
• Adding 11 US companies to the Unreliable Entities List.
• Adding 16 US companies to the Export Control List, China’s equivalent of Entity List under the EAR.
• Suspending export permits for 6 US agricultural producers exporting the related agricultural products to China.
• Multiple investigations regarding anti-dumping and "industry competitiveness" on specific US Goods.

At the moment, these retaliatory measures do not appear to directly affect the book publishing industry.

Book Publishers, With Ties to Europe and Asia, Assess Tariff Impact
by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, Reporter | The Wall Street Journal

Publishing has long been global. Many of the book printing presses in the U.S. were made overseas and are dependent on imported parts to keep them humming, said Brian O’Leary, executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, a trade organization that includes some of the country’s largest publishers.

Illustrated books are often printed in Asia and Europe. “We don’t think there will be duties on those books, but we don’t know,” said O’Leary. “We’re waiting to learn the specifics.”  

Wall Street Journal Live Updates | April 3, 2025

On April 2, the federal government announced new tariffs affecting imports from most countries. We've been asked, "Does this change the rules in place for importing books?" We've also been asked, "How will these new tariffs affect the industry?" With thanks to our member, the Woodland Group, here's what we know, as of April 3:

Authority

The tariff increases are being imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) following the executive order's (EO) declaration of a national emergency with respect to the “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security posed by “underlying conditions, including a lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships, disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers, and U.S. trading partners’ economic policies that suppress domestic wages and consumption, as indicated by large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits.” According to the EO, these deficits reflect “asymmetries in trade relationships” that (1) have contributed to the atrophy of domestic production capacity, especially that of the U.S. manufacturing and defense-industrial base, and (2) impact U.S. producers’ ability to export “and, consequentially, their incentive to produce.”

President Trump issued an executive order April 2 imposing additional tariffs at varying rates on imports from most countries. These tariffs will take effect within the next few days. The IEEPA tariffs announced before April 2 excludes books. The tariffs announced on April 2 do not list any book exclusions. Notice in the federal register may help clarify whether book imports will continue to be exempt.

Additional Tariffs

The U.S. will levy an additional 10 percent tariff on all imports from all trading partners, effective with respect to goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on April 5. However, this tariff will not apply to goods that are (1) loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transit before that time and (2) entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption after that time.

Several dozen countries will be subject to additional tariffs of 11-50 percent, including the following.

• 49% for Cambodia
• 48% for Laos
• 46% for Vietnam
• 37% for Bangladesh
• 34% for China
• 32% for Taiwan
• 32% for Indonesia
• 32% for Switzerland
• 31% for South Africa
• 27% for India
• 26% for South Korea
• 24% for Japan
• 20% for the European Union

These higher tariffs will be effective with respect to goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on April 9. However, they will not apply to goods that are (1) loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transit before that time and (2) entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption after that time.

The additional tariffs will be assessed in addition to any other applicable duties, fees, taxes, or charges and will remain in place until the president determines that “the underlying conditions described [in the EO] are satisfied, resolved, or mitigated.”

According to the EO, the president may increase or expand in scope the additional tariffs if (1) they are deemed to not be effective in resolving the emergency conditions (e.g., a continued increase in the overall U.S. trade deficit or “the recent expansion of non-reciprocal trade arrangements by U.S. trading partners” in a manner that threatens U.S. economic and national security interests), (2) any trading partner retaliates through import duties on U.S. goods or other measures, or (3) U.S. manufacturing capacity and output continues to worsen.

On the other hand, the tariffs may be decreased or limited in scope if any trading partner “takes significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements and align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national security matters.”

The EO also restates the 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico (10 percent on energy and energy resources and potash from Canada) that do not qualify for duty-free treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which will remain duty-free under the Border IEEPA. Those tariffs were imposed under a different EO; if those are terminated, USMCA-compliant goods would continue to be duty-free, while others would be subject to a 12 percent tariff.

Exclusions

The EO specifies that the additional tariffs will apply only to the non-U.S. content of a subject article provided that at least 20 percent of the article’s value is U.S.-originating. “U.S. content” refers to the value of an article attributable to the components produced entirely, or substantially transformed in, the U.S. The EO authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require the collection of such information and documentation regarding an imported article, including with the entry filing, as is necessary to enable it to ascertain and verify (1) the value of the U.S. content of an article and (2) whether an article is substantially finished in the U.S.

The EO excludes the following from the additional tariffs.

• all articles encompassed by 50 USC 1702(b) (e.g., communications, donations, and informational materials)
• all articles and derivatives of steel and aluminum already subject to Section 232 duties
• all automobiles and automotive parts already subject to Section 232 duties
• copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber articles, certain critical minerals, and energy and energy products
• all articles from a trading partner subject to Column 2 duty rates
• all articles that may become subject to duties pursuant to future Section 232 actions

De Minimis Exceptions

The EO states that duty-free de minimis treatment will remain available for all goods subject to the increased tariffs (except those imported from China) until the commerce secretary notifies the president that adequate systems are in place to “fully and expeditiously process and collect” revenue from these tariffs for articles otherwise eligible for de minimis treatment. "De minimis" exceptions are typically granted when the value of a shipment falls below a certain threshold, making the cost of collecting a tariffs harder to justify. The administration has signaled an interest in reducing the use of this exception.

For more information, consider this April 2 update from the Woodland Group.

Beyond Duties on Books

Duties assessed on imports go beyond their impact on finished books. Book printing equipment is often manufactured outside the U.S. market and may be subject to tariffs that vary by the country of origin. Manufacturing consumables, such as aluminum printing plates, may be subject to import duties. Imported pulp and paper may be subject to tariffs. Taken as a whole, these additional duties may increase costs in the short term, as the price of consumables rise. In the longer term, tariffs may also affect the cost of domestic manufacturing, if presses become more expensive to purchase and maintain.

Want to stay up to speed on tariffs and other pressing issues facing the industry? Don't miss BISG's 2025 annual meeting, Move Fast and Fix Things, on April 25, 2025, either in-person or virtually.