Pending Tariff Impacts Digital Billboards.

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“No one in the US makes LED’s so what the hell are we protecting.”  – A US digital billboard manufacturer on the impending LED tariff.

The escalating US-China trade war may be coming to a digital billboard near you.  Earlier this week the Trump administration released an updated list of items subject to a 25% tariff scheduled to go into effect July 6th.  Light emitting diodes (LED’s)made the list as item 8541.40.20.    Insider estimates that LED’s make up 30-50% of the cost of a digital billboard.  This means a digital billboard price increase of 7-12% if a manufacturer is hit by the tariff and chooses to pass the cost on.

Chinese manufacturers are using the pending tariff to generate immediate sales.  Insider received this email yesterday:

Hello Manager,
How are you. I believe you have heard the news about the new tariff that U.S is going to impose on many goods imported from china, Light emitting diode is  listed as 25% taxable.It will take effect on July 6th as announced…We have outdoor 7.62mm, 9.5mm, 12.7mm, 15.24mm Led sign cabinets for less than one week’s delivery and have shipments leaving china before end of this month, arriving US before 6th July….Please reply if you are interested so we can get things moving asap. 

Digital billboard makers importing unbundled LED’s from China will face the tariff. Insider hears that some digital billboard makers may avoid the tariff depending on what import classification they use and if the LED’s are bundled with other items when the product comes into the US.  Other digital billboard makers will avoid the tariff if they source their LED’s outside of China.

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One Comment

  1. Meg Kyle
    June 20, 2018 at 6:13 am

    So you are saying that America can not or does not develop light-emitting diodes? China has imposed high tariffs on many American products for decades. No outcry until now? They owe us billions of dollars. What should we do, continue to allow a communist nation to profit and become more wealthy as many Americans can barely make ends meet? I am sure as an industry we will rise above and see that China is not the victim many American businesses have been their victim for decades. I have a deep faith that this will end on a positive note for America for the first time in many many years. Have faith OOH is the oldest and will continue to develop cutting-edge ways to deliver our clients messages. I believe in every country pay their fair share and only the blind can not see how other countries have done nothing but take advantage of America, our products, and the American worker.