NEWS ALERT - USTR’s newly Announced List 3 Exclusion process and List 4 Comment and Hearing Process

USTR published a Federal Notice on May 21, laying out the exclusion process for list 3. USTR anticipates that the exclusion period will open up on or around June 30^th. USTR estimates that over 60,000 US Stakeholders will request an exclusion for a particular product. On May 13, USTR proposed a 4^th list, which slaps a 25% tariff on roughly 300 billion worth of goods. From food products to furniture, the proposed list would include “essentially all products not currently covered” under previously imposed lists including literally thousands of irrelevant goods. If your product appears on any Section 301 tariff list there are three avenues to potentially get it removed. You may submit a comment, attend public hearings, or obtain an exclusion. Below is a big picture of the past and future opportunities get products off tariff lists:

	List 1	List 2	List 3	Proposed List 4
HTS’s Included	800	279	5700	3,805
Due date for submission of written comments.	N/A	N/A	September 6, 2018	June 17, 2019
Due date for filing requests to appear and a summary of expected testimony at the public hearing.			August 13, 2018	June 10, 2019
The Section 301 Committee will convene a public hearing	N/A	N/A	August 20-23, 2018	June 17, 2019
Exclusion Deadline	October 9, 2018	December 18, 2018	September 30, 2019	N/A

Despite Congress mandating USTR to provide an exclusion process by March 17, 2019  USTR is still developing the exclusion process for; the actual parameters of the process are expected to be published on or around June 30. However, if your goods are listed in the proposed list 4, now is the time to act!

How to Get Your Product Off List 3 (Exclusion Request)

We help clients in strategizing how to identify a strong argument based on exclusions that were granted for list 1 and 2. When an exclusion is denied or granted, the decision is made public via the federal register. USTR has published 12,913 responses either granting or denying previous exclusion requests from List 1 or 2.

What are Your Options to Fight to Get Your Product Off List 4?

Interested in submitting a comment?

• June 17, 2019 is the due date for submission of written comments.

Interested in participating in a public hearing?

• June 10, 2019 is the due date for filing requests to appear and a summary of expected testimony at the public hearing.

• June 17, 2019 is the date the Section 301 Committee will convene for the public hearing.

• Seven days after the last day of the public hearing (June 24^th) is the due date for submission of post-hearing rebuttal comments.

For background information on China Tariffs and numerous ways to mitigate the effect of the China tariffs, check out our previous blogs. Diaz Trade Law has assisted clients in assessing their best options to prepare or mitigate the China tariffs and submitted comments and exclusion requests. Our Customs and International Law attorneys are available at 305-456-3830 or info@diaztradelaw.com.