Of the 52,746 exclusion requests related to Section 301 tariffs, 75.4% have been denied, and 12.3% are still under review, a new Congressional Research Service report says. Because most exclusions are for specific products, and don't cover an entire Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading number, it's not possible to know how much trade is covered by the exclusions, CRS said. The report noted that some Congress members complain about the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative picking winners and losers, while others feel any exclusion undermines the ability of Section 301 to address China's unfair trade practices.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new product exclusion for motorboats from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website June 19. The exclusion will 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. The new exclusion will fall under previously created subheading 9903.88.48.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told two senators concerned about retaliatory tariffs in India that the U.S. is working on restoring India to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, but that it's slow going. “We’re in the process of restoring it if we can get an adequate counterbalancing proposal from them,” he told Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who had complained that American apples are now taxed at 70% in India because of Section 232 tariffs on metals from that country.
Any future Section 301 exclusion renewals will only last until the end of the year, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the House Ways and Means Committee as he testified June 17 about the administration's trade agenda, adding that “they will decide what happens after that.”
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 8-12 in case they were missed.
The International Trade Commission on June 12 posted new Revision 13 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. This latest revision implements a round of exclusions from the fourth tranche of Section 301 tariffs on products from China, under subheading 9903.88.49 and U.S. note 20(bbb) to subchapter III of chapter 99 (see 2006090018). The ITC also amended an existing exclusion from the tariffs for certain pill crushing and grinding machines of subheading 8479.82.0080, per a USTR notice issued June 8.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP added on June 4 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS message. The official Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice for the exclusions was published May 28 (see 2005220020). The exclusions are in subheading 9903.88.48. The exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the Annex to USTR’s notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020. The CSMS message also includes a summary of Section 301 duties that shows information on each tranche of tariffs and granted product exclusions.
Rep. Suzan DelBene, a House Ways and Means Committee member who also leads on trade in the New Democrats, said she's worried that the participation of “so many countries” at the World Trade Organization in e-commerce talks -- including China -- will mean that the result will not be a high-standard agreement.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on June 10. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP: