International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 29 - May 3 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.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said there will be an exclusion process for the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on products from China and that the agency has "begun preparations to launch a process by the end of the month." His comment came in written replies submitted in recent weeks to Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., after a House Ways and Means Committee appearance in February. He had previously argued no exclusions were needed for the 10 percent tariffs despite urging from Congress.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told one Democrat the agency would be starting a Section 301 exclusion process for the largest, third tranche of goods subject to tariffs by the end of April (see 1905020030), but he avoided committing to finishing evaluations of pending exclusions once tariffs are lifted. "USTR will consider all options in the event tariff rates are modified," he wrote to Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind. No exclusion process has launched, even though the April 30 target has passed. USTR's spokeswoman did not respond to a question by press time about when it might launch. All of Lighthizer's responses were posted April 24 as an addendum to the February hearing's transcript.
Americans for Free Trade -- along with 150 national and regional trade groups -- sent a letter to the White House April 22 saying that all tariffs should end with a China trade deal, and that the enforcement of that deal should "avoid any enforcement mechanism that would trigger future tariffs and result in long-term economic uncertainty." The letter also said that the exclusion process for Section 301 imports should continue, even if those tariffs end at the signing of the agreement. The groups, which include the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, said, "American businesses and farmers bearing the burden of the trade war have been told repeatedly by your Administration that they must endure 'short-term pain for long-term gain.' They were promised that tariffs were merely a means to an end, and that all this damage would be worth it. A deal that fails to lift tariffs would represent a broken promise to these hardworking Americans. "
CBP on April 18 added the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with the third group of exclusions from Section 301 duties, it said in a CSMS message. Filers of imported products that were granted an exclusion should report the regular Chapter 84, 85 or 90 Harmonized Tariff Schedule number, as well as subheading 9903.88.07 for products subject to Section 301 duties on products from China but that have been granted an exclusion by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “Do not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when HTS 9903.88.07 is submitted,” CBP said.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1906 on April 17, containing 414 Automated Broker Interface records and 85 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes adjustments required by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement of new exemptions from Section 301 tariffs on China (see 1904170038). Modifications required by the verification of the 2019 HTS are included as well.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is publishing its latest list of product exclusions from the first tranche of $34 billion in Section 301 tariffs on China. This latest third list of exclusions does not include any full tariff schedule subheadings, instead applying to 21 subsets of tariff numbers in Chapters 84, 85 and 90.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a third list of product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The exclusions are "reflected in 21 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 348 separate exclusion requests," according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website April 15. The product exclusions apply retroactively to July 6, 2018, the date the first set of tariffs took effect, and will remain in effect until one year after USTR publishes the notice in the Federal Register.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 25-29 in case they were missed.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1904 on March 25, containing 1,015 Automated Broker Interface records and 194 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes adjustments required by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement of new exemptions from Section 301 tariffs on China (see 1903210048). Also included in the update are "some, not all, of the associated HTS codes for composite wood products, flagged with an EP7 (TSCA certification 'may be required’) code," CBP said. Modifications required by the verification of the 2019 HTS are included as well.