UPDATE! DEADLINE APPROACHING – WHY SHOULD YOUR PRODUCT NOT BE ON THE 301 LIST!

We have been working hard to keep you up to date on the current Trade War between the United States and China. For background on the Trade War see our previous blog post. This blog post sets out USTR’s actions in coordination with the Trump Administrations instructions. China took retaliatory actions against the United States in response to the first 301 list  of additional U.S. duties that became effective on July 6, 2018, which imposed an additional 25% duty on goods worth $34 Billion.

Section 301 - List 3 Tariff Exclusion Requests Open Until September 30th

On May 9, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a Federal Register Notice announcing that an exclusion process will become available for all goods included on List 3. All products included on List 3 are now subject to an additional 25 percent tariff (raised from 10%).

On Monday, June 24, 2019, USTR released a Notice detailing the exclusion process. As discussed in our previous blog, the exclusion process opened up via an online portal on June 30, 2019, and will remain open until September 30, 2019.

Wondering if your Exclusion Request has been granted or denied? Find out here!

Since the inception of the Trade War with China, the Office of the United States’ Trade Representative (USTR) has provided citizens, primarily those in industries directly affected by the imposition of ad valorem duties (tariffs), the opportunity to request that certain products be granted exclusions. Each list of tariffs has its own specific process to ensure that concerned citizens may voice their opinions as to why given products should not be subjected to additional duties upon importation, as prescribed in the Section 301 investigation.

List 4 Split into Two HTS Lists

As published by the USTR TODAY: USTR Announces Next Steps on Proposed 10 Percent Tariff on Imports from China

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) today announced the next steps in the process of imposing an additional tariff of 10 percent on approximately $300 billion of Chinese imports.

On May 17, 2019, USTR published a list of products imported from China that would be potentially subject to an additional 10 percent tariff.  This new tariff will go into effect on September 1 as announced by President Trump on August 1.

Certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security and other factors and will not face additional tariffs of 10 percent.

U.S. issues additional Chinese Tariffs – Is Your Product on the List?/ EE.UU. Emite Aranceles Adicionales a Bienes Chinos: ¿Su Producto Está En La Lista?

On June 15, President Trump kept true to his May 29^th promise of imposing additional tariffs against Chinese goods. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has officially released the “Section 301 Product List”. The additional duties are effective on or after July 6, 2018. History

Section 301- List 4 Tariffs in Effect Starting September 1

President Donald Trump, left, poses for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Despite the reignition of tensions in May, hopes of reconciliation began to grow in the preeminence of the G-20 international economic forum, held in June. While substantial progress was not made, President Trump and potential dictator for life Xi Jinping appeared to slow the escalation, coming to a bilateral good-faith agreement. Supposedly, the two nations agreed that the United States would soften the sanctions imposed on Chinese tech giant, Huawei, contingent that China begins to repurchase American agricultural products, as well as halt their exportation of Fentanyl. The tentative “cease-fire” also intended to delay the United States’ imposition of the threatened list 4, which would levy a 25% ad valorem on roughly $300 Billion worth of Chinese goods. The new round of tariffs looms over China, considering that 2019 proved to be their worst fiscal year in recent memory. In fact, this is the most sluggish Chinese economy in nearly three decades, which many directly attribute to President Trump’s vigilant economic policies. However, approximately a month since the United States graciously showed the illicit regime restraint, China refuses to uphold their end of the bargain. Chinese imports of American agriculture has failed to accelerate, and similarly, their exportation of Fentanyl remains a major health threat to the United States. “China agreed to...buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so,” President Trump said. “Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States—this never happened, and many Americans continue to die.”

...buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so. Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die! Trade talks are continuing, and...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2019

China’s most recent defiance led President Trump to announce that the US will proceed to implement a 4^th list of tariffs. Despite the fact that the originally proposed list would levy 25% ad valorem, the new list, which is set to go into effect on September 1, will start at a 10% ad valorem tariff (and can be increased to a 25% tariff at a later date). The list still targets $300 Billion worth of goods and is set to affect almost all items not included in List’s 1, 2, and 3. Whereas list’s 1 and 2 affected steel, aluminum, and other metals, list 3 began to cast a wider net. List 4 however, includes a variety of goods ranging from clothing to basic electronics.

China Trade War Intensifies

 

 Today, the Trump administration’s China trade war intensified as it announced plans to increase tariffs on Lists 1, 2, 3, and 4! The president connected the additional tariff hikes to China’s new retaliatory tariffs (as a result of US’s imposition of List 4 tariffs) on $75 billion-dollar in US products, mainly impacted the agricultural and auto industries, or President Trump’s base (as previously reported here). So what are the changes?

TOP 5 Strategies to Mitigate the Impact of Tariffs

Many importers, exporters, and international businesses alike may be unaware that avenues exist to ensure that their products remain unabated by protectionist trade policies (think China tariffs).

This blog provides an easy reference overview of five (5) proven and legitimate options for duty-saving opportunities.

We recommend U.S. importers, exporters, and manufacturers to consider these five (5) options as they apply to all products from virtually any country subjected to a tariff, including Section 201 tariffs for solar systems, Section 232 tariffs for aluminum and steel, and the infamous Section 301 Tariffs in place for Chinese originating goods and violations of trade agreements, as well as acts, policies or practices that are unjustifiable,  unreasonable, or discriminatory and that burden or restrict U.S. commerce.

U.S. and China Reach ‘Phase 1 Deal’

 Today, President Trump and the Chinese government announced a “Phase 1 Deal” and suspended the proposed increase in tariffs for products (on Lists 1, 2, and 3) that were set to begin on October 15. The scheduled tariff was set to increase from 25 to 30 percent on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports. In exchange, the Chinese government will buy $40-50 billion worth of American agricultural goods, and the agreement will include terms on both intellectual property rights and financial services.

BREAKING NEWS: EXCLUSION PORTAL TO OPEN FOR LIST 4A

                      

USTR announced it will open the exclusion request process for HTS’s on List 4A. List 4A includes products covered by Annex A of the August 20, 2019 notice (84 FR 43304)  that are subject to 15% duty as of September 1, 2019.

 

List 4 has a total of 300 Billion worth of products and includes both lists 4A & 4B. 15% duties for List 4B (products covered by Annex C of the August 20 notice) are effective December 15, 2019, and no exclusion process has yet been discussed for 4B.

Exclusion portal opens October 31, 2019, and closes on January 31, 2020.

Contact us today to get your request in timely!

DTL helps clients strategize how to identify the strongest argument to persuade the government in granting your exclusion request. DTL was active in assisting clients submit exclusion requests for List 3.

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