If the ongoing trade talks in China are not successful at resolving the current dispute, the USTR anticipates a new exclusion process may be announced for products in List 3.

As the trade dispute between the United States and China continues, some companies will receive a reprieve from additional duties. On April 18, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a third round of certain exclusion requests for products subject to an additional 25 percent duty assessed under the Section 301 investigation related to goods imported from China. See 84 FR 16310. Duties for these products first became effective on July 6, 2018.

This third round follows the previous rounds of exclusions granted by the USTR on December 28, 2018, and March 25, 2019. The third round of exclusions includes, among other items, “pumps designed for countertop appliances for serving beer,” “roller machines designed for cutting,” “water oxidizers,” “ratchet winches,” “continuous action elevators,” “steering wheels for watercraft,” “parts of drill sharpening machines,” motor vehicle parts, ball bearings, inductor baseplates, pressure switches and more. The product exclusions are available for any product categorized under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) number listed in the Annexes of the Federal Register notices, regardless of whether the importer filed for an exclusion request. Importantly, importers should examine the relevant HTSUS number classifications for their products, and not the product’s descriptions in the Annex, as the exclusions only apply to products listed under the relevant 10-digit HTSUS number. Customs and Border Protection has provided instructions on submitting imports from this third round of instructions.

Relevant HTSUS numbers for the first round of exclusions were published in a Federal Register Annex on March 25, and those for the second round on April 18.

The product exclusions announced are retroactive to July 6, 2018, and importers will be able to recover additional duties already paid for these products. 

Although the time to request exclusions has currently expired for products subject to List 1 and List 2 of Section 301 tariffs, the USTR has not yet announced an exclusion process for products categorized in List 3, which was published on September 21, 2018. If the ongoing trade talks in China are not successful at resolving the current dispute, the USTR anticipates a new exclusion process may be announced for products in List 3.

For More Information

If you have any questions about this Alert or need instructions on how to submit entries for excluded products to Customs and Border Protection, please contact Brian S. Goldstein, J. Manly Parks or Nathan B. Reeder in the International Practice Group or the attorney with whom you are regularly in contact.

Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.