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.
The International Trade Commission recently issued Revision 5 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new version implements recent changes to Section 301 tariffs on the European Union related to the Boeing-Airbus dispute at the World Trade Organization (see 2002180040). New subheading 9903.89.52 is added for newly tariffed knives from the United Kingdom and Germany. Subheading 9903.89.05 should be amended to increase the tariff on new airplanes from France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. from 10% to 15%, but the change was not actually made in the tariff schedule. Notes 21(a), (g) and (q) are amended to reflect the changes, including the removal of a classification for blended Scotch and Irish whiskies that carried no additional duty. These changes took effect March 5.
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 8 10-digit HTSUS subheadings, which cover 59 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.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will grant a series of medical product exclusions from List 4 Section 301 tariffs on products from China, it said in a pre-publication copy of a notice. The new exclusions, which are based on 59 separate exclusion requests, cover eight Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings: 3401.19.0000, 3926.90.9910, 4015.19.0550, 4818.90.0000, 6210.10.5000, 6307.90.6090, 6307.90.6800 and 6307.90.9889.
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 May 14 (see 1905100034) should last another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on March 12. The comments are due by April 12, it said. The USTR has granted extensions to only six exclusions so far (see 1912190060).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 18-21 in case they were missed.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new product exclusion from the second group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusion is reflected in "specially prepared product description," which covers "Skateboards with electric power for propulsion, of a power not exceeding 250 W (described in statistical reporting number 8711.60.0050)." The agency also converted a one exclusion for bulk silicone from a product description to an exclusion of a 10-digit HTSUS subheading, it said. The new exclusion applies from Aug. 23, 2018 and expires Oct. 1, 2020. The other change applies from when the original exclusion was announced, Oct. 2, 2019 and expires on Oct. 1, 2020, the agency said.
The Office of the U.S Trade Representative is set to publish a notice Feb. 20 listing some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China (see 2002190005). 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.