The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another group of product exclusions from the third group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "seventeen 10-digit HTSUS subheadings, which respond to 33 separate exclusion requests, and 61 specially prepared product descriptions, which respond to 70 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the third set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 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 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will grant extensions to 13 exclusions from the first list of Section 301 tariffs on China that were due to expire May 14, it said in a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to its website. The exclusions that weren't extended will expire May 14.
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 "three 10-digit HTSUS subheadings and five specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 27 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.
Backpacks imported from China that faced a 10% tariff, then a 15% tariff, then a 7.5% tariff -- in addition to the standard 17.6% tariff -- can now be excluded from the additional tariff, as long as they are a certain size. Luggage stores that fretted over tariffs that first went up in October 2018 (see 1905090012) say the break won't make a difference now.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 27 - May 1 in case they were missed.
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 4 (see 2005050002). 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 subheading 9903.88.46 will be used for these products.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another group of product exclusions from the third group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "two 10-digit HTSUS subheadings, which cover 15 separate exclusion requests, and 144 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 170 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the third set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether 11 sets of tariff exclusions granted to Chinese imports on Section 301 List 3 that are set to expire Aug. 7, 2020, should last another year, it said in a notice. The exclusions being considered for extensions are all the List 3 exclusions granted through March 26, it said. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on May 1. The comments are due by June 8, 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.
iRobot expects about $57 million in refunds of the List 3 Section 301 tariffs it has paid since the duties took effect in September 2018, including $6.6 million paid in Q1, Chief Financial Officer Alison Dean said on an April 29 Q1 investor call. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative granted iRobot a tariff exclusion last week on the robotic vacuums it imports from China (see 2004240031). The refunds are expected in several installments this year, Dean said. The exclusion expires Aug. 7.
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 2 that are set to expire July 31 (see 1907290023) should last another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on May 1. The comments are due by June 1, 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 August 2018, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.