President Biden has announced a series of increases on Section 301 tariffs focused on approximately $18 billion worth of imports from China in response to the country’s unfair trade practices. Following a statutorily mandated review of the Section 301 tariffs on imports from China, the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) has recommended in its report to President Biden that products currently subject to section 301 tariffs on goods from China remain subject to the existing additional tariffs, while certain categories of products will see significant increases in the additional tariffs assessed.
On March 12, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received a petition from various labor unions addressing China's policies concerning critical maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. The petition seeks relief from alleged unfair trade practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 - the same statute that has been used to address other unfair trade allegations resulting in the current special tariffs assessed against China.
On December 26, 2023, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) extended 429 total Section 301 tariff exclusions on Chinese goods.
On October 4, 2023, the US Aluminum Extruders Coalition and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (collectively, the "Petitioners") filed an antidumping ("AD") and countervailing ("CVD") duty petition before the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) concerning aluminum extrusions and merchandise produced from aluminum extrusions.
On May 19, 2023, the United States introduced a number of expanded sanctions and export controls on Russia and Belarus. These sanctions were imposed following the G7 Leaders’ Summit meeting conducted the prior week in Japan, and were coordinated with similar measures imposed by the other G7 countries and with Australia in an effort to further curtail the development of Russia’s military and industrial sectors in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In this advisory, we focus on the new sanctions and export controls that were imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”).
Yesterday, the U.S. and China signed the Phase One Agreement to address Section 301 tariffs. Although the text of the agreement did not specify when List 4A tariffs might be reduced from 15% to 7.5%, the U.S. Trade Representative has submitted a notice to appear in the Federal Register today indicating that the tariff reduction will become effective on 12:01 Eastern Time on February 14, 2020.
After speculation and varying press reports, both the U.S. and China have confirmed U.S. List 4B tariffs set to go into effect Sunday will be canceled, and List 4A tariffs implemented this past September will be cut in half to 7.5% from 15%. Section 301 tariffs on Lists 1-3 will remain at 25% until further notice.
The USTR announced it will begin accepting exclusion requests for List 4A products subject to Section 301 duties assessed against China. The process will open on October 31, 2019 at noon Eastern Time. The final deadline for submitting applications will be January 31, 2020 11:59 PM Eastern time. The USTR notice is available here.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will begin accepting petitions to seek duty reductions or suspensions under the next Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB). The MTB provides temporary (typically 3-year) relief from ordinary import duties on goods that are not produced domestically to improve the competitiveness of U.S. companies.
In response to China’s recent announcement of retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. goods, President Trump tweeted and the USTR published today intent to levy a 5% increase on Section 301 tariffs across all lists of merchandise scheduled or currently being assessed Section 301 duties. The USTR notice is available here.
President Trump tweeted earlier today that the United States will impose a 10% additional duty on Chinese articles included on List 4 beginning September 1, 2019. List 4 has not yet been finalized as to product coverage; but at last publication covered all apparel, footwear, and manufactured textile products. The List also covered a host of consumer products, including electronics, cellphones and toys.
The USTR announced it will begin accepting exclusion requests for List 3 products subject to Section 301 duties assessed against China. The process will open on June 30, 2019 at noon Eastern Time. The final deadline for submitting applications will be September 30, 2019. The USTR notice is available here.
Approved exclusion requests will exempt List 3 products from Section 301 tariffs retroactively from the September 24, 2018 effective date until one year after the publication of the exclusion determination in the Federal Register.
The USTR will evaluate each request on a case-by-case, and will determine whether a specific product should be excluded based on: 1) the rationale of the exclusion, 2) whether the granting of the exclusion would undermine the objective of the Section 301 investigation, and 3) whether the request defines the product with sufficient precision.
The USTR will be using a new web portal and application form to collect submissions. Newly required information in the application includes, but is not limited to:
An expanded description of the product describing the product function, application, principal use, and any unique physical features that distinguish it from other products within the covered 10-digit HTSUS subheading.
Information regarding the requester’s gross revenues for 2018, the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, which will not be made public.
Applications must be supported with specific information as to whether a product is available only from China; whether a product is available from the U.S. or a third country; and whether the requester has attempted to source the products elsewhere.
An indication of whether the applicant has made prior applications for relief under Lists 1 or 2.
Like the process for List 1 and List 2 exclusions, applicants must also establish whether the products are critical to the “Made in China 2025” program and must establish the degree of economic harm to the applicant. All submissions must also provide a clear basis for the HTS subheading asserted for the product.
The application form with the full information required can be viewed here.
All applications will be open for public comment. Responses to individual requests are due 14 days after the application is posted. Replies to responses are due 7 days after the close of the 14-day response period, or 7 days after the posting of a response-whichever occurs later.
Should you require assistance to prepare or validate List 3 submissions prior to their submission to the USTR, please contact one of the trade professionals listed here.
The USTR published today notice of its intent to raise List 3 Section 301 tariffs from 10% to 25%. A copy of the notice is available here.
President Trump issued two tweets this weekend threatening to increase the current 10% tariff on List 3 Chinese items from 10% to 25% to become effective on Friday, May 10. He further threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all remaining imports from China. Whether the President could impose such tariffs without adequate notice and comment from U.S. industry remains an open question potentially leading to challenge if enacted.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office has proposed new tariffs on $11.2 billion in imports of European Union goods in response to the World Trade Organization’s decision that the EU improperly subsidized Boeing Co.’s main competitor, Airbus SE’s aircraft production.
The proposed list of EU goods which would be affected by these tariffs is divided into two sections. The first section, which can be accessed here, only applies to products from France, Germany, Spain or the United Kingdom and covers civil aviation products including aircraft and parts.
The second section, which can be accessed here, applies to products from all members of the EU and includes a wide range of products spanning from cheese and wine to lenses and handbags. The preliminary list includes about $23.8 billion in U.S. imports from the EU. These duties will be in addition to the Section 232 steel and aluminum duties the U.S. currently imposes and the threatened U.S. duties on automobiles and auto parts.
The dispute between the U.S. and the EU is related to litigation at the Word Trade Organization. These tariffs would only be implemented after the WTO gave its final approval, and the amount of duties the U.S. will seek is subject to arbitration in the WTO, with a decision expected this summer. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, the administration is initiating preparations now in order to be prepared to act immediately when the WTO issues its findings.
The inter-agency Section 301 Committee is seeking public comments and will hold a public hearing in connection with the proposed determinations. The USTR is requesting comments on specific products in the proposed list and whether they should remain on the list, be removed or whether additional products should be added to the list. They are also seeking comments on the amount of the increased duty rate, whether these additional duties would have an adverse effect on U.S. stakeholders, and the appropriate collective level of trade to be covered by these duties.
Requests to appear at the public hearing and a summary of testimony will be due by May 6, 2019. A public hearing will convene in Washington D.C. on May 15, 2019. Written comments, including post-hearing rebuttal comments, will be due by May 28, 2019.
On Friday, February 15, President Trump signed the 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.J. Res. 31) into law, funding the federal government and preventing a second shutdown this year. While most of the media attention focused on the President’s simultaneous declaration of a national emergency with respect to the southern border, those of us in the international trade world focused on a far less public development revealed in the legislation.
We are pleased to announce that, effective March 1, 2019, Michael G. Hodes, Thomas M. Keating, and Lawrence R. Pilon of Hodes Keating & Pilon will be joining Rock Trade Law LLC where they will continue to practice as trade counsel. We are also pleased to announce the addition of a new associate attorney, Sara A. Arami.
These new attorneys will provide additional veteran expertise and allow us to more effectively service our clients. We also look forward to servicing existing HKP clients with our expanded portfolio of trade services and managed compliance programs.
In light of the upcoming changes, we will also be moving offices on March 1 into expanded space at 134 N. LaSalle, Suite 1800, Chicago, IL 60602.
We look forward to continued growth, and thank our loyal clients for their support on this major milestone for our firm.
Should you have any questions concerning these changes, please contact one of the trade professionals listed here
The President announced yesterday that additional Section 301 tariffs for China will be implemented on September 24, 2018. This assessment covers $200 billion worth of Chinese-origin imports. The notice can be found here.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced an additional 10% tariff on 6,031 tariff subheadings covering approximately $200 billion worth of imports. The proposal constitutes a new round of tariffs separate from the prior 25% tariff actions taken by the USTR. The complete Federal Register notice and tariff list can be found here.
On July 6, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced details of the process by which importers can request product exclusions from the 25% duties assessed against China. The USTR's press release stipulates that exclusion requests must be made on a product basis and be submitted prior to October 9, 2018. If granted, the exclusion requests will be retroactive to July 6th and remain in effect for one year. At this time, there is no indication of how long the USTR will take to process the requests.
