Just a quick note to clear up some misinformation out there
Import taxes - called "tariffs" or "duty"- are levied on goods moving from one country into another.
They are usually a percentage of the value of the goods. They are levied specifically to reduce the sales of those goods by increasing their price.
The person or company that is the importer is charged the tariff by the destination country. In our case the importer is Inkling Inc. - the company name that owns TheTentLab brand - and we pay an import agent to pay the tariffs (the duty) charged by US Customs (plus that agent's fees).
For other companies, be they Walmart, Apple, Target… ANY company in the US that brings in imported goods, they pay import tariffs to the US government and include those costs in all their calculations to arrive at their prices. There is NEVER a situation where the exporting country pays the tariffs for the importer*.
A US importer calculates their cost by adding:
the cost of the goods themselves (paid to the factory)
+
shipping (paid to the shipper)
+
tariffs (paid to the US)
=
the importer's cost for the goods, usually called the "Landed, duty paid" cost
*Even if such a thing was possible, the money paid as tariffs would still be included in the price of the goods.
Since we're here…
The 2025 US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) can be found here: https://hts.usitc.gov
Tents are addressed in Chapter 63, subheading 06.22. Backpacking tents are classified as HTS 6306.22.10.00(a) and their regular duty rate is free. Non-backpacking tents (car camping) are usually charged 8.8% duty.
Since our tents are made in China there is an overriding document which adds duty as HTS 9903.88.15
Looking up chapter 99, we find the additional duty is currently 7.5%. So backpacking tents from China pay 7.5% duty (and car camping tents are at 16.3%).
Our Deuce trowels are classified as tools of "base metal," (i.e. not "precious metal") specifically a spade or shovel, HTS 8201.10.00.00, regular duty is free.
We make many of our Deuces in the US (at margins that are barely viable as a business) and we also import Deuces from South Korea, made by our good friends DAC, the tent pole company.
General Note 33 is a US-Korea free trade agreement, so one would hope that Deuce duty would be extra free?
Deuce Duty? uh…NO.
FEBRUARY 10th, 2025 UPDATE: Trump just announced a 25% duty on all "aluminum imports," regardless of country or previous treaties. This includes "articles of aluminum," not just raw aluminum products like ingots. It applies to anything made mostly of aluminum including our poop trowels. Apparently such articles are “being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.”
However, our poop shovels are produced from US-made aluminum one would expect that the following would apply:
"Exceptions are provided for derivative steel products processed in another country that were melted and poured in the US. The same goes for derivative aluminum products processed in another country that were smelted and cast in the US."
One expects a lot of sensible things in this world. One is often disappointed. We'll see…
One thing is pretty clear: if 25% additional tariffs on tents made in China becomes reality, we will be out of the tent business.
(a) Don't let the decimals get to you. The HTS is a classification system where every two digits marks a class or subclass. The full number is always 10 digits but if it only takes, say, six digits to classify something, the last four digits will be zeros.So the decimal point is used as an organizing mark. The first two digits are the chapter of the HTS which is a general category. For instance 6306.22.10.00 means:
Chapter 63: Other made up textile articles; sets; worn clothing and worn textile articles; rags
6306: Tarpaulins, awnings and sunblinds; tents (including temporary canopies and similar articles); sails for boats, sailboards or landcraft; camping goods:
6303.22: Tents (including temporary canopies and similar articles): Of synthetic fibers:
6303.22.10: Backpacking tents
6303.22.10.00 (adding zeroes to fill out the tent digits)
6303221000 - Ten digits, no decimals, the "real" HTS code