New US tariffs on bikes take effect today
New Section 301 tariffs of 10% and 12.5% came into force in the US today, covering nearly all major bike-sourcing countries including Taiwan, China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia, as well as the EU. The Trump administration imposed the tariffs on the grounds that these economies fail to adequately prohibit or enforce a ban on importing goods made with forced labour.
The new tariffs apply to nearly all of US imports, according to the US Trade Representative, with a few exclusions for agricultural, aerospace, defence and medical goods.
The new rates replace the temporary Section 122 tariff, which was imposed after the US Supreme Court ruled in February that the administration's earlier use of emergency powers (IEEPA) to set tariffs was unlawful. That Section 122 tariff was due to expire today, 24 July 2026.
Yet, the exact mechanism for the new tariffs stacking on top of the existing ones remains unclear. For Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and China, for example, the new rate is added on top of an existing duty. For the EU and Taiwan, it isn't additive: the memo caps the combined rate at 10%. Whether the new rate stacks on China's existing 25% Section 301 tariff remains unclear.
Cycling industry body PeopleForBikes has been campaigning against the tariffs since the proposal stage, pushing for bike-specific exclusions and, separately, for relief from the existing 25% tariff on Chinese imports.
