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Chinese Goods on Way to US Escape 150% Tariff Hike, Government Says

For Chinese goods already on their way to the U.S., 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods that were to have taken effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday (see 1905060028), "the 10 percent duty rate will still apply," said…

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Customs and Border Protection in updated "guidance" Thursday. That was in keeping with Office of the U.S. Trade Representative instructions a day earlier. CBP's new guidance was to correct the agency's errant system update tariffing all Chinese goods at 25 percent if they entered U.S. ports after 12:01 a.m. Friday, regardless of when they left China, in direct contradiction to USTR's instructions, blogged trade lawyer Paula Connelly Thursday. The discrepancy was likely causing "quite a bit of confusion," she said. USTR soon will publish the terms of this List 3 exclusion process, said Thursday's Federal Register notice making the tariff increase legally binding. U.S. importers “should move quickly to assess the impact" of the higher duty rate and "consider whether to prepare an exclusion request,” advised Covington & Burling Wednesday.