Target could see tariff relief as U.S.-China comment process opens

Target’s shelves, not trade tables, are where a new U.S.-China tariff review will be felt. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative opened a public comment process June 2 on the U.S.-China Board of Trade, with comments due July 10 and rebuttals due July 27, in a step that could eventually lower duties on some non-sensitive goods and ease pressure on retail costs.

For Target, the immediate issue is not diplomacy. It is whether lower import costs could steady assortments, reduce pricing strain and keep key categories from getting whipsawed by tariff-driven cost swings. The agency said it is seeking comments on specific types of non-sensitive products that could benefit from tariff modifications on each side, including Chinese products that should be brought in at lower rates, potentially at original most-favored-nation levels. Commenters are also being asked to spell out the annual average value of those imports from 2022 through 2024 and which consumers would gain or lose from a change.

The scale matters. Officials from both countries have described the effort as identifying about $30 billion worth of goods on each side that could be traded without crossing national security lines. If even part of that list moves toward lower tariffs, Target could get more room to hold pricing, lean into value, and protect promotions in categories that depend heavily on imported product. If the process bogs down, store teams may keep seeing tighter assortments and more cautious price moves as merchants protect margins.

Target has already told investors why this is a live issue inside the company. In its 2025 annual report, Target said tariffs imposed or threatened in 2025 on China, India, Vietnam and Bangladesh have created, and could continue to create, substantial additional costs to procure merchandise. The company also said those costs may require price increases on certain products. The same filing said guests will see and feel more change in what Target sells and how it sells it in 2026 than they have in a decade.

China remains Target’s single largest source of imported merchandise, though the company has been cutting that reliance. Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez said the share of products sourced from China fell from 60% in 2017 to 30% today. That shift gives Target more flexibility, but it also shows how much work has already gone into reducing tariff exposure before any relief arrives.

The broader backdrop is still unsettled. The Congressional Research Service said the Trump administration has increased tariffs on U.S. imports since January 2025 using IEEPA and Section 232 authorities, while also reaching preliminary agreements with seven partners and a temporary tariff truce with China between April and August 2025. For Target, the real test is whether this comment process translates into cheaper goods soon enough to matter in stores, or whether teams keep operating under the same cost pressure into the next round of seasonal buying.