US halts new book tariffs after China agreement

Planned US tariffs on Chinese products including children’s books have been halted after the two countries reached a preliminary trade agreement.

The charges, scheduled for 15th December, had been due to target a range of products, including picture books printed in the country, that were excluded from tariffs announced in September. 

They have now been halted after what the US called a “phase one” agreement, although the September tariffs remain in place.

UK gift and children’s publishers say they have been impacted by the trade war and the Publishers Association has called on the UK government to intervene.

Donald Trump hailed the agreement on Twitter and said the next round of negotiations would start “immediately”. “This is an amazing deal for all,” he said.

Maria Pallante, president and c.e.o. of the Association of American Publishers, told Publishers Weekly: “We look forward to the removal of all tariffs on books—returning us to our nation’s long-standing policy of not imposing tariffs on educational, scientific and cultural materials.”