WASHINGTON – President Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports will affect a number of products used in printed circuit board manufacturing and assembly.

The affected parts include common components such as connectors and passives, laser drills, dispensing machines, placement machines and reflow ovens, among other equipment.

The Trump administration this week announced a 25% tax on imports of more than 800 products made in China. The tariffs take effect Jul 6.

The tariffs come after a so-called Section 301 investigation by the office of the US Trade Representative, which determined China’s policy of forcing foreign companies into partnerships with domestic firms had led to involuntary and illegal transfers of US corporate IP.

Among the products targeted for duty increases:

• Mechanical appliances for projecting, dispersing or spraying liquids or powders, used for making printed circuits or printed circuit assemblies (8424.89.10)
• Machine tools operated by laser, of a kind used solely or principally for manufacture of printed circuits (8456.11.70)
• Machine tools operated by light or photon beam processes, of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of printed circuits (8456.12.70)
• Parts & accessories for machines of heading 8456 to 8461 used to make printed circuits or PCAs, parts of heading 8517 or computers (8466.93.96)
• Parts and accessories of the ADP machines of heading 8471, not incorporating a CRT, parts and accessories of printed circuit assemblies (8473.30.20)
• Printed circuit assemblies for automatic teller machines of subheading (8472.90.10)
• Printed circuit assemblies of the goods of subheading 8504.40 or 8504.50 for telecommunication apparatus (8504.90.65)
• Printed circuit assemblies of electrical transformers, static converters and inductors (8504.90.75)
• Industrial furnaces and ovens for making printed circuits or printed circuit assemblies
• Printed circuit assemblies for television cameras (8529.90.09)
• Printed circuit assemblies which are subassemblies of radar, radio nav. aid or remote control apparatus, of 2 or more parts joined together (8529.90.19)
• Tantalum fixed capacitors (8532.21.00)
• Electrical fixed resistors, other than composition or film type carbon resistors, for a power handling capacity not exceeding 20W (8533.21.00)
• Electrical fixed resistors, other than composition or film type carbon resistors, for a power handling capacity exceeding 20W (8533.29.00)
• Connectors: coaxial, cylindrical multicontact, rack and panel, printed circuit, ribbon or flat cable, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000V (8536.69.40)

China is expected to respond in kind to the US tariffs.

IPC issued a note to its members reporting that discussions between US and Chinese trade officials are ongoing, and that the President could delay the duty increases up to 180 days.

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