The List 4 goods targeted for Section 301 tariffs of up to 25 percent include “many products Bose imports” to the U.S. from China, the manufacturer said in comments posted June 17 in docket USTR-2019-0004. The “proposed remedy” for curbing China’s allegedly unfair trade practices “should avoid causing disproportionate and direct economic harm to U.S. consumers,” Bose said.
Companies large and small, new and more than a century old all told government officials to keep apparel and footwear off the fourth list of Section 301 tariffs. The witnesses testified June 17, on the first of seven days of hearings from industries and trade groups about the possibility of additional 25 percent tariffs on nearly all Chinese imports that have not yet been targeted.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer faced criticism about President Donald Trump's China policy, which both Democrats and Republicans noted is hurting U.S. businesses and, if tariffs come on List 4, will dearly cost U.S. consumers. Lighthizer, who was testifying June 18 at the Senate Finance Committee about the administration's trade policy, said there's been no decision on whether there will be tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese imports. "The president will make that decision in the next few weeks," he said, and if tariffs are levied, there will be an exclusion process. "We think we have been fair in granting exclusions," he said.
The Office of Management and Budget Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs approved a new information collection requested by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in order to begin the exclusion process for goods from China in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs. OIRA approved the new form on June 14 after USTR sought an "emergency" review that allowed for expedited treatment, according to OIRA's page on the form. USTR requested the new information collection last month and said it planned to begin taking requests by around June 30 (see 1905210048).
Last August, Mike Branson, executive vice president of Rheem Manufacturing's air conditioning division, warned that if 8145.90.80 wasn't added to Section 301 tariffs, Chinese air conditioner exporters would avoid tariffs on their goods (see 1808210011). On June 17, Branson was back at a Section 301 tariffs hearing saying that's exactly what's happening.
Public hearings that begin June 17 on the proposed List 4 Section 301 tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports not previously dutied will span seven full days through June 25 and include roughly 320 witnesses, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a June 14 notice. Based on USTR’s May 17 notice announcing the List 4 tariffs, post-hearing rebuttal comments would be due July 2, seven days after the hearings end, marking the last deadline in the List 4 proceeding before President Donald Trump decides whether to put the duties into effect. June 17 is also the deadline for written comments in the List 4 proceeding.
Seven full business days of testimony in front of the International Trade Commission on List 4 of Chinese products set for Section 301 tariffs begins June 17 (see 1906140042). Representatives from dozens of industries -- including apparel, bicycles, tech, chemicals, textiles, equipment manufacturing, retail, shipping, pharmaceutical and air conditioning -- will testify. The testimony will not be televised, but submitted comments can be read at regulations.gov.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said it's too speculative to say whether the imposition of tariffs on List 4 of Section 301 goods from China might be put on hold after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at the G-20 summit at the end of June. In fact, Ross told Bloomberg TV June 13 that it's not clear whether the two will share just a brief conversation, or a dinner. "We don't know for sure there will be a meeting," he said.
Quartz countertops imported from China and cut from quartz slabs from the U.S. are considered to be of U.S. origin, CBP said in a April 25 ruling. The ruling comes at the request of idX Corporation, which imports the cut and polished countertops into the U.S. Both the unfinished slabs and the finished countertops are classified under subheading 6810.99.00, as “Articles of … artificial stone, whether or not reinforced: Other: Other.” That subheading is included in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China.
One member of each party from the House and Senate have joined together on a letter to the U.S. trade representative about exclusions for Section 301, and how the process for List 3 might be expedited. The letter, sent June 12 by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.; Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind.; Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.; and Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., asks USTR if the office needs more resources to get through all the requests. They also asked that when requests are granted, relief is retroactive to September 2018, not just when the tariff climbed from 10 percent to 25 percent. "As we near the one-year mark of the application of tariffs on Chinese imports included on Lists 1 and 2, we anticipate your office will see the value in automatically granting renewed exclusions for products which had already received an exclusion," they wrote.