The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another set of product exclusions from the fourth group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "two ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and 32 specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 55 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, the date the fourth set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020.
Section 301 tariff exclusions
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has established an exclusion process for Section 301 tariffs on China. In a series of rounds since the tariffs took effect, importers have been able to request exclusions from the tariffs, as well as extensions to existing exclusions. Many exclusions have been allowed to expire, as well. Section 301 exclusions are applicable to all importers of a given good, which may be defined as an entire tariff schedule subheading or a subset of a subheading outlined in a written description.
The International Trade Commission on June 4 issued Revision 12 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. This latest edition implements a June 2 notice from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that extends some exclusions from list 1 Section 301 tariffs on products from China (see 2005290020). The extended exclusions are listed in new U.S. Note 20(ccc) to Chapter 99 in the tariff schedule, and goods entered under these exclusions are classifiable under new subheading 9903.88.0050.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether the set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 1 that are set to expire Sept. 20 (see 1909180013) should extend by up to another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on June 8. The comments are due by July 7, it said. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently. The focus of the evaluation will be whether, despite the first imposition of these additional duties, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 26-29 in case they were missed.
The International Trade Commission recently issued two more revisions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to implement extended and new exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on China. In Revision 11, issued May 29, the ITC implemented new exclusions from List 3 tariffs under U.S. Note 20(aaa) and subheading 9903.88.48 (see 2005220020). The agency also removed two list 4 exclusions (see 2005270022), and extended some exclusions from the first list of Section 301 tariffs that had been set to expire May 14 (see 2005130003), according to the change record.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether three sets of tariff exclusions granted to Chinese imports on Section 301 List 3 that are set to expire Aug. 7, 2020, should be extended for up to another year, it said in a notice. The agency already requested comments on 11 other sets of exclusions that expire the same day (see 2005010030). The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on June 8. The comments are due by July 7, it said. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently. The focus of the evaluation will be whether, despite the first imposition of these additional duties in September 2018, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will grant extensions to 16 exclusions from the first list of Section 301 tariffs on China that were due to expire June 4, it said in a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to its website. The exclusions that weren't extended will expire June 4.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is removing two previously approved exclusions from the fourth list of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, it said in a notice. The deletions “correct technical errors in previously announced exclusions,” it said. The agency is deleting exclusions for “Tumblers or disposable graduated liners for pitchers, of plastics, of a kind used in healthcare facilities (described in statistical reporting number 3924.10.4000)” and “Manually operated pill or tablet crushers of plastics, presented with attachable pouches of plastics for capturing and storing the resulting powders (described in statistical reporting number 8479.82.0080),” it said. The action is effective for “goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption” as of Sept. 1, 2019.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website May 21 (see 2005220014). The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020. New Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. subheading 9903.88.48 will be used for these products.