The USA Trade Representative’s office has restored 352 expired product exclusions from USA’s ‘Section 301’ tariffs on Chinese imports, which isn’t as many as the 549 that were considered previously, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Products in question constitute a good chunk of the estimated $370 billion worth of Chinese imports that got punished with 7.5 to 25 per cent tariffs by former US President Donald Trump. The list includes industrial components, car parts, chemicals, and consumer goods.
What interests us from this list are PCBs as they make the backbone of all our much-wanted graphics cards, motherboards, and RAM. Normally this should translate into lower final prices, but if we have learned anything lately, it is that end-users are the least susceptible to seeing the immediate benefits of cheaper manufacturing.
Let’s just stay positive and hope for a day where we can finally get back to $200 graphics cards that can actually game, instead of a worst performer at a higher price. I am looking at you, RX 6500 XT.
Effects of these exclusions may not be visible any time soon, so don’t hold your breath. For now, you can enjoy the recent GPU price drops with more to come… maybe.
On a final note, we hope the US will not stop here, and will continue until all products are free of tariffs, like before, as this is beneficial for consumers and producers/manufacturers alike.
