EsGojo Industries, the manufacturer of Purell hand sanitizer including dispensing systems, has received exemptions from import duties from China for the pump housings and collar systems for its dispensers.
Both had previously been denied exemptions, Bloomberg reports. The approval now likely relates to the importance of the products in the fight to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The duties at a rate of 25% had been applied under the list 3 tariff line since May 2019 and at a lower tariff rate since September 2018. The move follows the removal of a slew of tariffs on medical supplies as outlined in Panjiva’s research of April 1.
Panjiva’s data shows that total U.S. imports of the products that have received exemptions fell by 12.3% year over year in Q4 before dipping by 1.3% in January. That was largely due to a tariff-led 48.6% slump in Q4 in imports from China while shipments in January fell by 34.4%.
The slide in shipments from China was offset by a 53.0% jump in imports from Mexico and Canada in Q4 followed by a 65.8% rise in January. Imports from Europe dipped in Q4 and were unchanged in January while those from the rest of the world increased in both periods.
Source: Panjiva
Gojo Industries had already been switching its supply routes more broadly, but stated in its filings that it couldn’t do so for the remaining items due to intellectual property ownership issues with upstream suppliers.
Panjiva data shows that Gojo has likely switched a significant proportion of its sourcing to Malaysia and away from China. U.S. seaborne imports linked to the firm fell by 55.1% year over year in Q1 2020 including an 80.0% slump in shipments from China including Hong Kong. Shipments from Malaysia meanwhile surged to reach 45.5% of the total in Q1 compared to 36.4% for China.
Source: Panjiva
