CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
With the announcement of a phase one deal, Flexport chief economist Phil Levy said the promise is for stability in tariff levels -- even if the large majority of goods facing Section 301 tariffs will retain the 25 percent hike. But, he noted in a Dec. 16 webinar, many times over the last eight months, “a deal was announced, and it didn't last. That should sort of serve as a precautionary tale.” Levy, like many observers, doesn't believe that a phase two deal, that could lead to rolling back more tariffs, is likely in the next year.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is making some changes to “certain notes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States” related to the second tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a notice. “To correct technical and ministerial errors and in order to conform to the U.S. Trade Representative’s intent to grant certain exclusions, the Annex to this notice includes amendments to certain notes in the HTSUS,” it said.
The Office of the U.S Trade Representative issued some new product exclusions 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 Dec. 12 (see 1912130015). 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. New subheading 9903.88.36 will be used for these products.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new set of product exclusions from the 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The exclusions include products from the third list of Section 301 goods. The new exclusions "are reflected in 9 ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and 35 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 75 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice.
The Section 301 tariffs on goods from China that were set to take effect on Dec. 15 will not go forward because a phase one deal between the U.S. and China was reached, President Donald Trump said in a Dec. 13 tweet. "The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal," he said.
With the last round of consumer goods imported from China spared, and a reduction in Section 301 tariffs on about $120 billion in goods that were first subject to additional tariffs Sept. 1, some business interests welcomed the de-escalation, but warned that the U.S. should stay focused on more significant economic reforms in China. The tariffs on List 4a, which are at 15 percent and apply to about 3,800 8-digit tariff lines, will go to 7.5 percent.
President Donald Trump tweeted Dec. 12 that U.S. and China negotiators are “Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!” However, Trump has said before that the two sides were very close -- including two months ago -- and nothing came of it. Numerous media outlets reported Dec. 12 that administration officials said an agreement in principle has been reached between China and the U.S., but no announcement had been made by press time. Several media outlets reported that the U.S. was willing to cancel tariffs set to take effect Dec. 15 and cut existing Section 301 tariffs by half, and an adviser to the president said Trump would cut tariffs, but did not say by how much. An announcement is expected on Dec. 13.
CBP's proposal to modify rulings on women's shirts with partial openings and no means of closure would result in “overturning decades of precedent that CBP itself established, and longtime industry practice,” the American Apparel and Footwear Association said in Dec. 6 comments to the agency. The proposed change would “have a huge tariff impact on what is one of the largest apparel categories on the market -- women’s cotton tops,” the group said. CBP proposed the modification in the Nov. 6 Customs Bulletin (see 1911080014), and comments were due Dec. 6.
President Donald Trump should go forward with the planned Dec. 15 tariff increase on goods from China, the Coalition for a Prosperous America said in a Dec. 10 news release. The CPA noted that some 260 U.S. companies sent Trump a letter on Dec. 9 that offered support for the Section 301 tariffs. While the letter doesn't make a specific mention of the Dec. 15 tariffs, the companies were “registering their support for the president’s actions ahead of a December 15 final list of Chinese imports that will be subject to tariffs,” CPA said. CPA Chair Dan DiMicco said “the American people support President Trump’s efforts to confront China” and “this letter includes a wide range of industries that have repeatedly been targeted by China.” There's been some recent indication that the scheduled Dec. 15 tariff increase will not happen at that time (see 1912090057).