10% US tariff on Chinese imports takes effect under EO 14195

On 4 February 2025 the additional 10% ad valorem duty on Chinese- origin imports under Executive Order 14195 (“Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China,” signed 1 February 2025) took effect at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time for goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption.¹ U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects the additional duty under new HTSUS subheading 9903.01.20, per CBP’s implementing notice published on 5 February 2025.² EO 14195 invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1702(a)(1)(B), the “regulate … importation” verb), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.) and § 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2483).³⁴⁵ Section 2(g) of the order withdraws duty-free de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. § 1321 for covered articles.⁶ China’s State Council Tariff Commission announced retaliatory tariffs the same day, effective 10 February 2025: a 15% additional duty on US coal, coke, lignite and liquefied natural gas (across 8 tariff lines) and a 10% additional duty on US crude oil, certain agricultural machinery and tractors, large-displacement vehicles and pickup trucks (across 72 tariff lines).⁷ China also requested WTO consultations the same day in DS633, citing GATT 1994 Articles I:1 and II:1.⁸ Parallel orders imposing 25% duties on Canada (EO 14193) and Mexico (EO 14194) were paused for 30 days on 3 February by EO 14197 and EO 14198.⁹

1. The new duty stacks on top of § 301 tariffs in place since 2018 under USTR action authorised by 19 U.S.C. § 2411(b), currently in effect at modified rates following the 2024 four-year review.¹⁰¹¹ Cavallo, Gopinath, Neiman and Tang (2021) found that the 2018-2019 § 301 tariffs passed through largely one-for-one at the border but only partially at retail in the categories studied.¹²

2. The elimination of the $800 de minimis exemption for Chinese- origin goods under § 2(g) of EO 14195 sweeps cross-border e-commerce into the duty base, materially affecting direct- to-consumer parcel flows.⁶

3. The Canada/Mexico pause does not extend to China; the China duty remains in force pending litigation. CBP collects under the new Chapter 99 subheading; the duty base is the entered value at the rate in effect at the time of entry.²