Exclusions from Section 301 China tariffs for 81 medical care products related to COVID-19 will be extended until the end of February 2023, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a pre-publication notice released Nov. 23. The exclusions had been set to expire Nov. 30.
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 is extending exclusions from Section 301 China tariffs for 81 products related to the COVID-19 pandemic through February 2023, it said in a notice released Nov. 23. The exclusions, originally granted Dec. 29, 2020, were scheduled to expire Nov. 30, USTR said. “In light of the continuing efforts to combat COVID, the exclusions have been extended for an additional 90 days, through February 28, 2023,” USTR said in an emailed announcement.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation says the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports have been fruitless, and antidumping and countervailing duty laws also are inadequate to counter the wide variety of abuses from China -- industrial espionage, forced technology transfer, discrimination against foreign sales in China, as well as enormous subsidies. "It is time for the U.S. government, ideally working with allies, to craft and implement a new set of trade defense instruments," ITIF Founder Robert Atkinson wrote in a white paper released Nov. 21.
With the expected shift to a Republican majority in the House -- and the retirement from Congress of former Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady -- Republicans will have three choices to lead the powerful committee.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Oct. 31 - Nov. 6 and Nov. 7-13:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Oct. 17-23:
Although President Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports during his campaign, and although his treasury secretary repeatedly said they contribute to inflation and some of them are harmful, trade lobbyists for UPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the tariffs are largely here to stay.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Oct. 3-9 and Oct. 10-16:
More than a dozen amendments involving trade have been proposed for the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill the Senate passes every year, and is expected to take up in a lame-duck session after the November election.
Countries whose industries have been damaged by Chinese oversubsidization and overcapacity have tried to discourage subsidies in China, with results that have "been mixed at best," said Anna Ashton, the Eurasia Group's director of China corporate affairs and U.S.-China relations. She said allowing China to join the World Trade Organization, more than 20 years ago, was part of this system of carrots and sticks to effect changes in China.