NEW STEEL TARIFFS TARGET E-BIKES AND TRAINERS
By Jay Townley
08 18 25: “New ruling will add steel tariff costs to imported e-bikes and trainers.” Bicycle Retailer and Industry News: “The steel used in e-bikes, indoor trainers, exercycles, and some hand tools is now subject to the Trump administration's Section 232 tariffs, which are up to 50 percent. An unpublished notice from a Department of Commerce bureau lists hundreds of HTUS import codes for steel derivative product categories that are now subject to the tariff. The list includes 8711.60.00, the import code that applies to e-bikes (as well as to e-cargo bikes and electric motorcycles), and 9506.91.00, which in the past has been applied to exercise bikes and fluid trainers, according to a PeopleForBikes guide to HTUS codes used in the industry. The new list also includes hand tools like pliers and hex keys, and ball bearings and roller bearings that the bike industry imports. Most of the new codes are for industrial tooling, tractors, and some electronic parts, as well as some household appliances. The steel content of these products will be subject to the 50 percent tariff if imported from most nations, 25 percent if imported from the United Kingdom. The steel content is not subject to reciprocal tariffs, but the full value of the import is subject to other tariffs in place. ‘In the case of China, the entire value of an e-bike is also subject to 25 percent 301 tariffs and 20 percent IEEPA fentanyl tariffs, just not the 10 percent reciprocal tariff currently in place under the 90-day pause,’ said Matt Moore, PeopleForBikes' policy counsel. The steel tariff applies unless the steel was melted and poured in the U.S. and assembled elsewhere. The list was made public on Friday as an unpublished notice in the Federal Register. It is set to be included in the full Federal Register being published Tuesday. The new tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday. HPS ANALYSIS: BRAIN does an excellent job with this relatively complex subject and provides bicycle industry specific information, including interviewing Aaron Powell, the founder and CEO of Bunch Bikes, who notes that the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Commerce Department bureau that determined the new list of derivatives, runs the process of adjusting the derivatives list, including seeking industry input. Nucor Corp., a steel manufacturer, suggested that 8711.60.00 be added to the list. There were no comments from the bike industry. "We dropped the ball," he said. This isn’t a big surprise given the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the tariff situation that has descended on the American bicycle business. However, it also points out the need for the bicycle business to watch all branches of the federal government very carefully.
08 19 25: “This Customs curveball is changing the game.” Bloomberg Supply Lines: “After years of chaotic trade wars and pandemic supply disruptions, it’s hard to rattle American freight carriers, cargo owners, and all the middlemen that keep international commerce moving through the world’s largest economy. This past weekend, though, the stress was more palpable than usual across social media platforms where the U.S. logistics crowd likes to vent. The target of their fuming: a notice late Friday from the Customs and Border Protection agency that more than 400 additional items would be included on steel and aluminum tariff lists, effective Monday. No exceptions were granted for anything already in transit. For many customs brokers and trade compliance professionals, an August weekend was consumed by the latest onslaught of HS codes for products that would now qualify for the 50 percent sectoral duties. ‘This Customs curveball is changing the game,’ Brian Baldwin of Kuehne + Nagel wrote on LinkedIn. ‘This isn’t just another tariff — it’s a strategic shift in how steel and aluminum derivatives are regulated.’ Even those hesitant to editorialize didn’t hold back. ‘It’s become increasingly obvious to me that the current administration is not so much interested in reshaping trade as it is intent on sabotaging it,’ wrote Eric Johnson, director at S&P Global and senior technology editor at JOC.com. ‘These actions are not about righting trade unfairness. It’s about making the job of importing insanely difficult, if not downright impossible.’ “ HPS ANALYSIS: This article makes it clear that: "These actions are not about righting trade unfairness. It's about making the job of importing insanely difficult, if not downright impossible." In its zeal to restore, the Administration, and in this case the Commerce Department, is trying very hard to make it as difficult as possible to import products. If this is the objective, as it appears to be, the U.S. needs to make it as financially attractive as possible to invest in all aspects of domestic bicycle manufacturing.
08 19 25: “Trump widens metal tariffs to target baby gear and motorcycles.” Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump stunned the logistics industry on Friday by widening his steel and aluminum tariffs to include more than 400 types of consumer items that contain the metals, such as motorcycles and tableware. Customs brokers and importers in the U.S. were given little notice to account for the change, which went into effect Monday and did not exclude goods in transit. The new tariff inclusion list was posted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection just as many were leaving for the weekend and appeared in the Federal Register on Tuesday, creating fresh headaches for trade professionals. Official guidance has been muddled, especially for goods already on their way to the U.S., and it’s unclear whether the metals levies stack on top of country-by-country tariffs. Having weathered six months of Trump’s trade war and a pandemic that triggered mass supply disruptions, it’s hard to rattle the freight carriers, cargo owners, and middlemen that keep cross-border commerce moving. But the scope and implementation speed of this latest notice took many by surprise. ‘We’ve had a lot of these 11th-hour implementations throughout 2025; this one in particular impacts every single client I have to an enormous degree,’ Michigan-based customs broker Shannon Bryant said in an interview. More than 400 consumer items are now covered by President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. ‘Earlier announcements at least had some in-transit exemptions, so at least importers could make reasonable buying decisions,’ said Bryant, president of trade compliance advisory service, Trade IQ. ‘This one was unique in that way — it’s very much a ‘gotcha.’’ The new list includes auto parts, chemicals, plastics, and furniture components — demonstrating the reach of Trump’s authority to use sectoral tariffs. That is separate from the executive power he invoked for his so-called reciprocal tariffs. ‘ Basically, if it’s shiny, metallic, or remotely related to steel or aluminum, it’s probably on the list,’ Brian Baldwin, a vice president of customs in the U.S. at logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel International AG, wrote in a post on LinkedIn. ‘This isn’t just another tariff — it’s a strategic shift in how steel and aluminum derivatives are regulated.’ The White House did not comment on the sudden rollout of the expanded tariffs, but said that businesses should have anticipated inclusions, pointing out that the administration established a process that began in April for adding derivative steel items to the list of products being taxed. ‘ It has been clear for many months that new products could be treated as steel and aluminum derivatives. Today’s action should not come as a surprise,’ White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. The difficulty with applying tariffs to derivative products lies in determining what percentage of an item is made from the targeted materials. Flexport, a digital freight forwarder, said in a blog post that ‘for many brands, this means chasing suppliers for detailed data: aluminum weight, percentage of customs value, and country of cast/smelt.’ The compliance burden, Flexport said, ‘is significant.’ This tranche of tariffs is also particularly expansive, including items such as motorcycles, cargo handling equipment, baby booster seats, tableware, and personal care products that come in metal containers or packaging. Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, conservatively estimates that the metals tariffs now cover about $328 billion worth of goods, based on 2024 import data. That’s six times greater than in 2018 and a big jump from the $191 billion worth of goods covered prior to the change, he said in an email to Bloomberg News. Bryant, whose clients include importers of power sports equipment, cosmetics, and commercial cookware, sent a letter to her elected officials in Washington on Monday warning that the complexity of overlapping tariffs is becoming unworkable even for professionals. ‘For small importers,’ she wrote, ‘it’s impossible.’” HPS ANALYSIS: This article reports that Michigan-based customs broker Shannon Bryant, whose clients include importers of power sports equipment, cosmetics, and commercial cookware, sent a letter to her elected officials in Washington on Monday, warning that the complexity of overlapping tariffs is becoming unworkable even for professionals. "For small importers," she wrote, "it's impossible." Keep in mind that most importers in the American bicycle business are classified as “small importers.” As noted, the "new ruling" is based on Section 232 tariffs, which are separate from all the other tariffs that have already been imposed and are also not part of the litigation that is pending before the appeals court. Section 232 widened the steel and aluminum tariffs to include more than 400 types of consumer items that contain the metals and now cover about $328 billion worth of goods, based on 2024 import data. At this point, it is unclear whether the metal tariffs stack on top of country-by-country tariffs or not. The difficulty with applying tariffs to derivative products lies in determining what percentage of an item is made from the targeted materials, in this case, steel or aluminum. What is clear - the scope and implementation speed of this latest notice took many by complete surprise. No exceptions were granted for anything already in transit, so the new Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs of up to 50 percent went into full force and effect Monday, August 18 – and have been referred to as - a ‘gotcha.’ Shannon Bryant is quoted as saying: “These are American companies that employ American people that are being ambushed by their own government.”
Contact Jay Townley: jay@humanpoweredsolutions.com