Chinese Books Are Not Exempt From Tariffs

CAROLINE MCCARTHY, HOST INTRO

Books are exempt from President Trump’s new tariffs. That’s according to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. However, a tariff on Chinese books implemented during Trump’s first term still exists. And as Zijie Yang reports, it’s blocking access to books for Chinese communities in New York City.

ZIJIE YANG, BYLINE

On a Sunday evening, in Liwen Yu’house in Great Neck, Long Island, her two daughters are on their pink double-decker bed. Yu sits on a white stool by the bed. She presents a graphic print of the children’s tale, The Little Prince, to the girls, with the main character on the cover: a golden-haired boy in a green coat with a yellow muffler around his neck. Yu reads the story in a soft voice. First, she recites a line of the English text, and then she provides a Chinese translation. 

YU1

(Reading)

I knew very well that in addition to the great planets, such as the Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, to which we have given names, there are also hundreds of others, some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope. 

我知道除了大行星，如地球、木星、火星、金星之外，还有其他千百颗行星，有的小得很，就是用望远镜也很难发现。(Fadeout)

YANG 2

Yu arrived in the United States with her family twenty-three years ago. She attended high school and college in New York City and worked as a nurse in a clinic in Manhattan. Yu said that when she was working, she found patients were more comfortable and relieved while being treated by a doctor or nurse who spoke their mother tongue. So, she wants her children to read Chinese books and learn the language. It carries their cultural identity.

YU 2

So I bought different kinds of books. Science, culture of Chinese, and all other stuff too.

YANG 3

Do they like the books?

YU 3

Oh they like it. That’s why they ask me to bring more stories reading Chinese books.

YANG 4

But beginning in 2019, Chinese books became more expensive. That’s when the Trump Administration imposed a 7.5% tariff on Chinese books. But this year, new tariffs were imposed on Chinese goods more broadly. They’ve been changed frequently, and as of the time of this report, they’re over one hundred percent. Book prices can vary a lot, but about a decade ago, a Chinese version of The Little Prince cost around 18 dollars; Today, it’s closer to 45. Yu says it is too much.

YU 4

We’re not buying any Chinese books lately. Oh, that’s really sad. Oh my god. So my kid will have no more chance to know more Chinese stuff. If they want more books, I don’t know how I can get Chinese books to them.

YANG 5

In theory, religious books like the Bible and educational materials, including graphic novels and picture books, like the one Yu was reading to her kids, are supposed to be exempt. But in practice, it doesn’t always work that way. Gao Zhong, 68, owns a Chinese bookstore in Flushing.

GAO 1

(translated)

The prices of books would be 30% to 50% higher.

YANG 6

Gao says booksellers import books in containers. On the import forms, there’s only one category: Chinese books. So he has to pay a tariff. 

His bookstore is on Main Street in Flushing, near the Queens Botanical Garden. During the day, he sits by the wooden counter at the entrance and sips his coffee. Behind the counter, there are ten large metallic shelves tightly packed with Chinese books. Gao usually arranges the books tidily, but today, the floor of the store is nearly filled with stacks of books because he has decided to close the store.

GAO 2

(translated)

First, I am old. I am 68 years old this year. I don’t have enough energy to keep doing the work. Second, the decision to close the bookstore is related to tariffs. 

YANG 7

As an editor who has worked in the publishing industry for over three decades, he has exceptionally high standards. He’s not sure if a new owner will be able to meet them. So, he plans to close his business at the end of June.

YANG 8

Back on Long Island, behind the bed of Liwen Yu’s daughters, there is a wall of crayon and pencil paintings drawn by her two girls. Once they finish reading a book, they will tear off a piece of paper and draw their impression of the story. Liwen Yu will continue to read her children bedtime stories. She says she’ll get more books from the library. However, books will be more expensive for libraries to purchase, which may result in fewer new books on their shelves as well. And children always want new stories. Zijie Yang, Columbia Radio News.