Donald John Trump is the 45th and current president of the United States. (Courtesy Photo)
By Our Reporter & News Agencies
America’s Bibles—most of which are printed in China and imported to the United States—are now exempt from the burgeoning trade war between the two nations, Uganda Christian News has learnt.
According to Christianity Today, with a 10-percent hike on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods looming next month, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) posted two long lists of items: one of imports from China that will become subject to tariffs on September 1, and one of imports whose proposed tariffs will now be delayed until December 15.
It also noted that “certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security, and other factors.”
Missing from both lists: Bibles.
“Bibles and other religious literature are among the items removed from the tariff list and will not face additional tariffs of 10 percent,” USTR confirmed to Christianity Today.
The news came as a relief to Christian publishers in the US, who warned this summer that the “Bible tax” would make some translations too costly to produce.
China is, according to Christianity Today, the world’s largest Bible publisher, thanks to Nanjing-based Amity Press which has printed almost 200 million since 1988 in partnership with the United Bible Societies.
“With as many Bibles as are printed in China, the news that they will not be subject to such tariffs is welcomed news for LifeWay and other publishers of God’s holy Word,” stated Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) on Twitter.
Some Twitter users responded to Moore with confusion or criticism of why American Bibles are made in China. The ERLC statement noted:
Due to longstanding supply chain issues, more than 75 percent of Bibles are printed in China. Like encyclopedias and textbooks, Bibles contain a large amount of text that must be formatted to a bound book on thin paper. China has been specializing in this printing technology for decades and is home to the world’s largest Bible-printing company, printing at least 150 million Bibles in 2016.
To import Bibles from a country other than China would require time, extensive quality tests, and higher prices incompatible with the high and consistent demand for Bibles in the United States. Because such a large percentage of Bibles are printed in China, the proposed tariff would have devastated the importation of Bibles into the United States and other parts of the world where American ministries distribute God’s Word.
Christianity Today contributed to this report.
