International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 in case they were missed.
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.
Fitbit filed one request from the 15 percent Section 301 List 4A tariffs for its core fitness trackers and smartwatches, saying it deserves credit for shifting production away from China at the U.S. Trade Representative’s public docket. Fitbit “began to adjust its operations" almost immediately after the Trump administration proposed tariffs on smartwatches and fitness trackers sourced from China, the company said. It "anticipates being able to make substantial additional changes to its supply chain in the foreseeable future," it said. Fitbit will shift production to "outside China" starting in January for “effectively all of its trackers and smartwatches” to escape tariff exposure, it said last month (see 1910090053).
Apple Can’t Find Sourcing Outside China, It Says in Each of Its 11 List 4A Tariff Exclusion Requests
Apple and SVS Sound were among the first tech companies to seek product exclusions from the 15 percent Section 301 List 4A tariffs when the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative began accepting exemption requests at noon on Oct. 31. Apple filed 11 requests, while Specialty Technologies, which does business as SVS, filed two applications, one each for the finished speakers and subwoofers it sources from China.
The International Trade Commission issued Revision 16 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes in the new edition that take effect Nov. 1 include the restoration of eligibility of many Ukrainian goods for the Generalized System of Preferences, as well as implementation of the results of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2019 GSP product review, which also requires minor changes to tariff subheadings for certain plywood. A new set of exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on products from China are also added to the tariff schedule.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative could be even tougher in its review of extension requests for Section 301 tariff exclusions (see 1910280059) than it had been previously, Sidley Austin lawyer Ted Murphy said in a blog post. "Any company that is relying on an approved product exclusion from the first batch of approvals should consider filing comments with the USTR," he said. "We expect that the bar for securing a renewal/extension may well be higher than it was to secure the original approval (i.e., the need to answer the question why you still need the exclusion a year later). Companies relying on other approved product exclusions (those not from the first batch) also should watch this process closely." Although the possibility of exclusions is welcome news, " it also means that the Administration believes that there is at least a meaningful chance that the U.S.-China trade war will carry on and that the Section 301 duties will remain in place well into 2020," he said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 21-25 in case they were missed.
In a sign that tariff negotiations with China will continue into 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will publish a notice in the Federal Register this week asking for comments on whether the first set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on List 1, set to expire Dec. 28, should last another year. The Docket Number is USTR-2019-0019.
The International Trade Commission has issued Revision 15 to the 2019 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The only substantive change from the previous HTS edition is the removal of an exemption from solar cells safeguard duties for double-sided solar panels, as announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in early October (see 1910080054).
A domestic manufacturer and labor union filed petitions on Oct. 22 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duty investigations on forged steel fittings from India and South Korea, and new countervailing duties on the same product from India. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on forged steel fittings that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. The petition was filed by Bonney Forge Corporation and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new set of product exclusions from the 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The exclusions include products from the third list of Section 301 goods. The new exclusions include " 83 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 95 separate exclusion requests", according to the notice.