The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced procedures for requesting product exclusions to some of the fourth list of Section 301 tariffs on products from China. A subset of those tariffs took effect on Sept. 1 (see 1908270066), while the rest of the tariffs are scheduled to begin on Dec. 15. This process only applies to tariffs that began on Sept. 1, it said.
A new report on the economic impact of the tariff reductions on 1,655 products covered by the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill finds a tiny effect on GDP from the $179 million in duties saved over seven months.
Trade experts identified many weaknesses of the World Trade Organization -- the evidentiary standard for countervailing duties: the fact that CVD in one market doesn't help the industry's economics when surplus flows to other countries; the length of time it takes to show adverse effects to domestic firms; the fact that 164 countries can't agree on trade liberalization.
CBP issued filing instructions for goods subject to the tariffs on goods from Europe set to begin on Oct. 18 (see 1910020044). The Oct. 17 CSMS message includes instructions for "submitting an entry summary in which a heading or subheading in Chapter 98 and/or 99 is claimed on imported merchandise" and the sequence order for reporting the tariff numbers. The additional duties of either 10 percent or 25 percent "are effective on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on October 18, 2019," it said.
The Congressional Research Service, in a recent report, quantified the U.S.-China trade war and estimated its effects so far on bilateral trade. It said that as of Sept. 1, about 67 percent of U.S. imports from China have additional tariffs, most 15 to 25 percentage points higher, and about 60 percent of U.S. exports to China are taxed at an additional 5 percent to 25 percent.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 7-11 in case they were missed.
Details remain vague about the “very substantial phase one” trade deal President Donald Trump announced at the White House Oct. 11 with China's Vice Premier Liu He that persuaded the president to delay hiking three rounds of Section 301 tariffs to 30 percent (see 1910110038). Trump “approved” the delay at Liu's request, “while we go through a process of documenting” phase one and putting the agreement on paper, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
Trade associations are circulating a letter to send to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer calling for a delay to the EU tariffs set to begin on Oct. 18 (see 1910020044). "These new duties will not be borne by the EU producer or manufacturer of those now-dutiable goods, but by the American importers which have already purchased the products and, very quickly, by American consumers," the letter says. "Nearly every product impacted by these tariffs transits to the United States from Europe by sea. In order to arrive in Washington State or Alaska before October 18, shipments of these products would have had to depart Europe in the first half of September or earlier." The USTR should revise its plans so that "all goods exported from Europe October 2 or earlier [will] be exempt from tariffs." The agency allowed for a "similar accommodation" in May for the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs (see 1905310070).
CBP added the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the second tranche of Section 301 tariffs on Oct. 8, it said in a CSMS messages. For the second tranche exclusions, filers of imported products that were granted an exclusion (see 1909300041) should report the regular Chapters 39, 70, 73, 84, 85, 86 and 90 Harmonized Tariff Schedule number, as well as subheading 9903.88.20. “Importers shall not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when" subheading 9903.88.20 is submitted, CBP said.
President Donald Trump announced a "very substantial phase 1" deal in the Oval Office Oct. 11, saying the Chinese and American negotiators came to a deal on intellectual property, financial services and agricultural sales. The president said China will buy as much as $40 billion to $50 billion worth of American commodities. He also said good progress had been made on issues around technology transfer from American companies to Chinese partners.