Harmonized Tariffs

I am not sure what most people think of when they hear the phrase harmonized tariff, but it will mean higher prices to US consumers.

For whatever reason the new duty system that has recently been introduced by US Customs is aimed at collecting more money from imported products. In flooring many items in the past have been exempt from duty, but some have had duties imposed in the range of 3%-15% depending on their classification.

Many items like bamboo flooring have been duty free, but the current view is that bamboo will now face an import duty under the new tariff. Actually it is not really clear what the position about bamboo is, but the direction appears to be towards adding a duty.

So although this topic may seem irrelevant to you now, as you watch prices increase in the next 3-9 months on flooring you will know that your government is collecting more duty than ever before.

(I don’t even know where the duty $$ goes!)