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 "five 10-digit HTSUS subheadings and seven specially prepared product descriptions, which together cover 36 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.
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.
A coalition of U.S. manufacturers seeks the imposition of new antidumping and countervailing duties on vertical shaft engines between 99 cc and up to 225 cc, and parts thereof, from China, it said in a petition filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission March 17. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CV duty orders and the assessment of AD and CV duties on importers.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 16-20 in case they were missed.
The Office of the U.S Trade Representative plans to issue some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China (see 2003230001), it said in a notice. 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 9903.88.43 will be used for these excluded products.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another set of product exclusions from the third group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "one 10-digit HTSUS subheading, which covers one exclusion request, and 176 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 202 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 the set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 1 that are set to expire June 4 (see 1906030038) should last another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on April 1. The comments are due by April 30, 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 July 2018, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
Supply chain disruptions due to China's lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic may end up not being as relevant as the worldwide economy shudders and stalls. Kurt Tong, former consul general to Hong Kong and a business consultant with the Asia Group, told reporters March 16: “You can have supply chain shocks that are being masked by the fact that there’s no demand for the goods.” He said the abrupt reversal of economic activity means “shipments are going to come down.” Tong and others were speaking on a webinar about trade and the coronavirus.
China accounted for 26% of imports of medical devices, protective gear and other supplies needed to fight the coronavirus epidemic before the trade war began, according to a recent paper by Peterson Institute for International Economics economist Chad Bown -- and after tariffs were put on the goods, those imports fell by 16%.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will grant one-year extensions to 11 exclusions from the first list of Section 301 tariffs on China that were due to expire March 25, it said in a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to its website. The notice is silent on the other exclusions issued alongside the 11 that were granted extensions, so those appear set to expire on March 25.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued new medical supply product exclusions from the fourth group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs "are reflected in 19 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 39 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020.