US lowers penalty tariffs on Chinese furniture

The US government on Tuesday lowed the level of penalty tariffs to be imposed on Chinese bedroom furniture and upheld a ruling that Chinese furniture was being sold in the United States at unfairly low prices.

The US Commerce Department lowered the penalty tariff for 115 Chinese companies, accounting for roughly 65 percent of Chinese furniture imports, to 8.64 percent, down from the preliminary tariff of 12.91 percent.

A smaller group of six companies accounting for roughly 35 percent of Chinese furniture imports will face penalty tariffs ranging from 2.22 percent to 16.7 percent.

However, the new ruling will not become final until the US International Trade Commission upholds its preliminary ruling that US companies are being harmed by imports of Chinese furniture.

US furniture manufacturers petitioned the US Commerce Department last year to impose penalty tariffs on Chinese bedroom furniture, asserting that the furniture is sold at the unfair prices in the United States. The US government ruled earlier this year in the preliminary decision to impose higher tariffs on the Chinese products.