You will probably have noticed an absence of reporting on what has been an almost constant in the regular news media: the impact of the various new international trade tariffs. That is because there has been considerable lack of clarity on the impact this would have on the book business and our particular corner of it. This week we learned a lot more. Tl;dr: books are exempt from the latest round of tariffs imposed on trade imports into the US.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
Here's the official ALLi statement on the issue, along with recommendations on what to do next.
OK, let’s unpack a little.
I highly recommend visiting this longer piece in Bookweb. And, if that’s what floats your boat (and you will know by now that when it comes to my interests, lists of trade-related categories are right there at the top), you can read the full list of exemptions here. The ones that are relevant to us are those beginning 48- and 49- on pages 30 and 31, which are those relating to paper and printed materials.
Exempt—for Now
Let me break it down a little.
I’ll start by saying that the situation is moving fast (as I type this story, there has been an announcement of a ninety-day suspension of many tariffs, though the situation as it impacts us hasn’t changed). I won’t report on every change as it happens but will update where things move substantially. So do take this as “the situation as it is now.”
Books are exempt, as I said at the start, from the current round of tariffs. Tariffs that were already in place (such as the 7.5 percent tariff on imports from China in place since 2018) remain.
The reason for the exemption is that they are part of the “information exemption” included in the arrangement under which the tariffs were imposed.
Raw Materials Still Affected
The raw materials for printing, however, are not covered by this exemption (though those imported to the US from Mexico and Canada will be exempt under a separate arrangement). So publishers and local print-on-demand companies will be impacted according to where they source their raw materials.
There may also be tariffs for books going the other way—from the US into countries that have imposed retaliatory tariffs that do not exempt books.
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
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Non-members looking for more information can search our extensive archive of blog posts and podcast episodes packed with tips and advice at ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Center.
