This is a customs form that companies must file to import goods into the United States. In recent days, these forms have become living documents that show how President Trump’s tariffs are squeezing businesses.
In this example, Leslie Jordan Inc., a company that sells activewear for special events, imported a shipment of women’s T-shirts from China at the end of April. That was after Mr. Trump aggressively escalated levies on Chinese imports, but before officials from both countries agreed on a temporary reprieve — an example of how companies have struggled to plan for their purchases as tariff levels continually shift.
The shipment was valued at $18,639, but this company paid $34,389 in tariffs — almost twice the value of the goods themselves. The import tax on this one shipment added up to nearly 185 percent.
Often Mr. Trump’s new tariffs are layered on top of existing ones. In this case, the T-shirts were subject to a base tariff of 32 percent based on the value of the import. Many goods typically have a very low base tariff, but garments and other textile goods are subject to some of the highest tariffs.
A number of goods from China are also subject to special tariffs to combat alleged unfair trade practices. These tariffs — known as Section 301 duties — were introduced during Mr. Trump’s first term and later expanded by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. In this case, they resulted in a 7.5 percent additional charge.
One of Mr. Trump’s first trade actions when he started his second term in January was to impose a tariff on China for enabling the flow of fentanyl into the United States. The tariff started at 10 percent but was then raised to 20 percent.
In early April, the administration introduced “reciprocal” tariffs. China’s rate started at 34 percent, then escalated to 84 percent before rising to 125 percent. (This tariff, in addition to the 20 percent “fentanyl” tariff, amounts to a 145 percent tariff on most goods.)
To import one shipment of T-shirts, the company had to pay four different tariffs. “It is impossible to plan and run a business this way,” said Leslie Jordan, the company’s owner.
On Monday, the reciprocal portion of tariffs on Chinese imports was suspended for 90 days as the United States and China negotiate new trade terms.
That means if this same shipment were to arrive today, it would face a total tariff rate of 69.5 percent — a very high level, but a fraction of what the company was forced to pay just a couple of weeks ago. This lower rate means Ms. Jordan would have paid $21,000 less in tariffs on this one shipment than she did before.
Ms. Jordan, who founded her company nearly 40 years ago, said the administration’s tariff policy had been the hardest challenge she had faced running the business. While some of the tariffs have been lifted, at least temporarily, the time it takes to place orders, get products manufactured and then have them loaded onto ships and transported across the Pacific would probably exceed the 90-day reprieve.
And given the drastic changes in U.S. trade policy, Ms. Jordan said, she has little ability to predict how much she may need to pay when her next order lands at American ports. “If we base it on today’s tariff,” she said, “who knows what it will be when the goods are produced and arrive?”
