Which products are affected?
Eyewear cases and cleaning cloths, contact lenses, corrective and non-corrective glasses/sunglasses, parts, mounting frames—essentially every aspect of hardware.
When will the tariffs take effect?
Eyewear cases and cleaning cloths from China were subject to an additional 10% tariff as of Sept. 24, 2018, and a tariff increase to 25% in May 2019.
Tariffs on these goods (Section 301:List 3) were due to increase from
25% to 30% on October 1, 2019
; per a presidential tweet on September 11, 2019, the increase will be delayed until October 15, 2019, pending official notice.
Other optical goods (contact lenses, corrective and non-corrective glasses/sunglasses, parts, mounting frames, essentially every aspect of hardware) faced a
15% tariff September 15th for some
(see list 4A)
and December 15th
for others
(see list 4B).
Will companies who import optical goods from China increase their prices?
At this writing, many companies are taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to price increases. However, all companies related will soon have to make decisions about if and when to increase prices, and what type of increases to make. A 15%-25% tariff on all optical goods will most assuredly effect our industry widely.
READ MORE
about specific Lists and Tariffs...
