CBP provided some details in a May 9 CSMS message on how importers should file entries that will be subject to the increased Section 301 duties on goods from China. The CSMS message confirms that the increased duties will only apply to goods exported and entered after May 10 (see 1905080035). During a call with software developers the same day, CBP officials explained that several pieces are still being worked out, including the addition of a tariff subheading for goods exported before May 10 and entered after the tariffs take effect.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a fourth list of product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The exclusions cover "515 separate exclusion requests" including five 10-digit subheadings that cover 86 separate requests and "35 specially prepared product descriptions" that cover 429 separate requests, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website May 9. The product exclusions apply retroactively to July 6, 2018, the date the first set of tariffs took effect, and will remain in effect until one year after USTR publishes the notice in the Federal Register.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice on the increase in Section 301 tariffs for the third tranche of goods from China (see 1905080004) mentions that a new exclusion process will be coming for that group of products. The notice, which said that the tariffs will go from 10 percent to 25 percent for the third list of goods from China at 12:01 a.m. on May 10, also seems to indicate some differences from previous tariff implementation instructions on the timing.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is set to publish on May 9 a notice on the increase in Section 301 tariffs for the third tranche of goods from China. The tariffs will go from 10 percent to 25 percent for the third list of goods from China at 12:01 a.m. on May 10, the USTR said. That increase was previously delayed while negotiations with China were underway. China's Vice Premier Liu He will be in Washington for further discussions this week "to make a deal," President Donald Trump said in a May 8 tweet.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 29 - May 3 in case they were missed.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is now saying it's not his stubbornness on getting Mexican and Canadian retaliatory tariffs lifted that stands in the way of the Senate ratifying the new NAFTA. He said he's looking for "any way of moving ahead," but added, "let’s just assume that Chuck Grassley said that we ought to go ahead, regardless of whether the tariffs come off, it isn't going to happen. ... You're never going to get the 51 votes through the United States Senate" in that scenario, he said.
The third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China will go up to 25 percent on May 10, President Donald Trump tweeted on May 5. "For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billion Dollars of other goods," he said. "These payments are partially responsible for our great economic results. The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday. " That increase was previously set to take place at the beginning of 2019, but was pushed back as the U.S. and China negotiated.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said there will be an exclusion process for the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on products from China and that the agency has "begun preparations to launch a process by the end of the month." His comment came in written replies submitted in recent weeks to Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., after a House Ways and Means Committee appearance in February. He had previously argued no exclusions were needed for the 10 percent tariffs despite urging from Congress.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told one Democrat the agency would be starting a Section 301 exclusion process for the largest, third tranche of goods subject to tariffs by the end of April (see 1905020030), but he avoided committing to finishing evaluations of pending exclusions once tariffs are lifted. "USTR will consider all options in the event tariff rates are modified," he wrote to Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind. No exclusion process has launched, even though the April 30 target has passed. USTR's spokeswoman did not respond to a question by press time about when it might launch. All of Lighthizer's responses were posted April 24 as an addendum to the February hearing's transcript.
The International Trade Commission recently posted Revision 3 to the 2019 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new version includes changes necessary to implement the latest group of exemptions from Section 301 tariffs on certain products from China, as announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in a notice issued April 18 (see 1904170038). That includes the addition of new subheading 9903.88.07 for goods that qualify for the exemption, as well as new paragraph (j) of Note 20 to subchapter III of chapter 99, which lists goods covered by the new exemptions.