08/07/2020

USTR Announces Exclusion Extensions for Certain Section 301 List 3 Products

The Office of the United States Representative has just announced which exclusions from List 3 have been extended.

A copy of the complete list can be found here.

These exclusions were set to expire on August 7, 2020, but have now been extended until December 31, 2020. In total , exclusions for 21 separate HTS subheadings have been extended as well as over 200 other product specific exclusions.

Please review the list to see if your exclusions have been extended.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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06/03/2020

Last Group of China List 3 Tariff Exclusions Now Being Considered for Extension

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is considering an extension for up to 12 months of three additional sets of exclusions from the Section 301 tariff on List 3 goods from China that are set to expire on August 7, 2020. Comments may be submitted from June 8 through July 7, 2020 on the extension of these last three sets of exclusions. The USTR previously announced it was considering the extension of 11 sets of exclusions (comments are due by June 8) and it is now considering an extension of the remaining three sets, which were previously announced April 24th, May 8th, and May 28th.

If you would like to submit a comment regarding this latest announcement by the USTR, please note that all submission requests must be sent electronically via the USTR Comment Portal and the docket number is USTR-2020-0016. The portal will be open for comments on June 8, 2020, and the period for comments will end at midnight on July 7, 2020.

In evaluating comments, the USTR will be focusing on responses such as, but not limited to the following:

> Can the product be sourced elsewhere?
> Have there been any changes to the product’s supply chain?
> What (if any) efforts have been made to source the product elsewhere?
> Whether Chinese suppliers have lowered their prices for the excluded product following the imposition of tariffs
> What is the value and quantity of the excluded product purchased from domestic and third-country sources in 2018 and 2019?
> Whether the imposition of tariffs on the excluded product will result in severe economic harm to the commenter or other U.S. interests
> Whether the commenter supports or opposes extending the exclusion and why

A copy of the complete USTR notice can be found here.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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06/03/2020

Additional List 3 Products are Now Excluded from the China Sec 301 Duties

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a new set of product exclusions from Section 301 List 3 Chinese tariffs.

The full notice can be found here. 17 complete HTS numbers are excluded, plus 61 product specific subheadings. The 17 fully excluded HTS numbers are as follows:

0713.33.1040, 0713.50.1000, 1207.70.0020, 1207.70.0040, 1209.30.0090, 1209.91.6010, 1209.91.8010, 1209.91.8020, 1209.91.8040, 1209.91.8050, 1209.91.8060, 1209.91.8070, 2916.19.1000, 5603.14.9090, 5603.92.0090, 5603.93.0090, 9403.70.4002.

The product specific items include items such as

– Freeze-dried shrimp (Penaeus spp.), whole, of a kind used as pet feed, put up for retail sale (described in statistical reporting number 0511.91.0090)
– Handbags with outer surface of sheeting of plastics, each measuring not more than 35 cm in width, not more than 20.5 cm in height and not more than 30 cm in length (described in statistical reporting number 4202.22.1500)
– Screws of stainless steel, having shanks or threads with a diameter of at least 6 mm, self-threading with Philips head (described in statistical reporting number 7318.15.8082)

and many others items.

We would encourage all importers to read the full notice to see if any if your products might qualify for these latest exemptions.

This latest round of exclusions will retroactively apply to all products meeting the specified criteria effective September 24, 2018 and will expire on August 7, 2020.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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05/07/2020

USTR Announces Additional Exclusions for Sec 301 List 3 Items

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced several new exclusions to the 25% additional tariff for Sec 301 List 3 goods.

The complete notice can be found here and it contains 2 HTS subheadings that are now totally excluded (4819.50.4060 and 6902.20.5020), as well as 144 product specific exclusions for items such as dried broccoli, prepared pigment pastes, certain floor coverings of high density plastic or stone, expandable garden hoses, backpacks, and many other products.

This latest round of exclusions will apply retroactively to September 24, 2018 for all products meeting the specific criteria, regardless of whether the importer filed the exclusion request. These exclusions will expire on August 7, 2020.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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04/27/2020

USTR Announces Additional Exclusions for China List 3 Products

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has just announced additional exclusions to the 25% Sec 301 duties on certain List 3 products.

The complete notice can be found here, and it contains one HTS subheading 8424.90.9080 (parts of mechanical appliances for projecting, dispersing, or spraying liquids or powders) that is now completely excluded, as well as 107 specific product exclusions for items such as bed rails, portable heaters, work benches, steel tubing, sign plates, textile bags, etc.

These new exclusions, which must be claimed using new HTSUS subheading 9903.88.45, will be retroactive to Sept. 24, 2018, and remain in place until Aug. 7, 2020. As always, all importers who have an eligible product are able to claim an exemption under the new exclusions, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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03/24/2020

USTR Grants Additional China List 3 Exclusions

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a new set of product exclusions from Section 301 List 3 Chinese tariffs. The complete notice can be found here and contains 1 complete HTS subheading (7002.10.2000) completely excluded from the 25% tariffs, and 176 product specific exclusions.

This latest round of exclusions will retroactively apply to all products meeting the specified criteria effective September 24, 2018 and will expire on August 7, 2020.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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03/20/2020

USTR Announces More Product Exclusions for List 3

The List 3 notice contains 5 HTS subheadings completely excluded from List 3 tariffs, and were in response to 75 separate requests. These exclusions will be retroactive to Sept. 24, 2018, and remain in place until Aug. 7, 2020. The list of 5 HTS subheadings that have been completely excluded from the List 3 tariffs are as follows:

3923.21.0030
3923.21.0095
3926.20.9050
4015.19.1010
5603.12.0090

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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02/21/2020

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced an additional set of product exclusions from Section 301 List 3 Chinese tariffs. This latest notice (found here) fully excluded subheading 6505.00.8015 ( Nonwoven disposable headgear without peaks or visors) from the 25% tariffs, and partially excluded 46 other product specific subheadings. According to the notice, the product specific items include titanium dioxide, rubber sunroof stoppers, stuff sacks, leather mobile device covers, wood flooring, desk accessories, various fabrics, portable outdoor cookers, aluminum shovels, car polishing devices, fuel filters, digital scales, steel jacks, irrigation canal valves, AC motors, power supplies, electrical inverters, copper cable lugs, printed circuit board assemblies, electric conductors, toddler beds made of wood, wooden fireplace mantels, and office furniture parts.

This latest round of exclusions will retroactively apply to all products classified under 6505.00.8015, and other products meeting the specific criteria listed in the notice. The exclusions are effective September 24, 2018 and will expire on August 7, 2020. All importers who have an eligible product are able to claim an exemption under the new exclusions, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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02/04/2020

On January 31, 2020, the USTR granted an additional 119 exclusion requests to the Section 301 duties on List 3 goods from China.

Two full exclusions were granted for HTS subheadings 8425.31.0100 and 8708.93.7500, and partial exclusions included products ranging from fish to supported catalysts to hand-operated pumps and more. See the USTR’s list for the 119 items.

This latest round of exclusions will retroactively apply to all products meeting the specified criteria effective September 24, 2018 – the date the U.S. first imposed List 3 duties – and will expire on August 7, 2020. It is important to note that all importers who have an eligible product are able to claim an exemption under the new exclusions, regardless of whether or not the importer filed an exclusion request.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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Update 11/27/2019

USTR has Announced Another List of Section 301 Exclusions for Certain Products on List 3

Additional exclusions from the Section 301 additional 25 percent tariff on List 3 goods from China have just been announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. This notice contains 32 specifically identified products. Some of the products contained in this latest list of exclusions include certain electric lamps, outdoor tables, folding chairs and tables, vacuum cleaners, starter motors, bicycles, carts, canoes, and foldable stepladders. The complete list of exclusions can be found here.

According to the USTR, this latest round of exclusions will apply retroactively to September 24, 2018 (the date the duties were first imposed) for all products meeting the specific product descriptions, and will remain in place until August 7, 2020.

Importers should review the list of excluded goods and, if applicable, apply for refunds of any tariffs paid on such goods since Sept. 24, 2018. It is important to note that these exclusions are available for any product that meets the specified product description, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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Update 11/11/2019

An additional 34 product exclusions from the Section 301 additional 25 percent tariff on List 3 goods from China have been announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Additionally, two HTS subheadings (8409.91.3000 and 8708.50.9500) are fully excluded. The exclusions will be retroactive to Sept. 24, 2018, and remain in place to Aug. 7, 2020.

Items such as pet leashes, floor panels, some fabrics and yarns, vehicle wheels, and certain floor tiles and coverings are included in this latest round. A copy of the notice containing the specific product descriptions and corresponding HTS numbers can be found here.

Importers should take this opportunity to review the attached list of exclusions and determine if any of the exclusions are applicable to your product. If so, you may want to apply for refunds of any tariffs paid on such goods since Sept. 24, 2018. Keep in mind the product exclusions are available for any product that meets the specified product description, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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Update 10/28/2019

Additional exclusions from the Section 301 additional 25 percent duties for goods on China List 3 goods have been announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

A copy of the Federal Notice listing the excluded products can be found here.

These most recent exclusions cover 83 specific product exclusion requests and are retroactive to September 24, 2018.

The exclusions will expire on August 7, 2020.

We would encourage you to review this list to determine if any of your products could be eligible for the exclusion. Remember that these exclusions are available for any product that meets the specified product description, regardless of whether the importer was the one that filed the exclusion request. If your imported product is covered by an exclusion, it is possible to apply for a retroactive refund on the additional duties you have paid.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

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Update 08/06/2019:

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) Office has just released the first group of HTS subheadings that will be granted a partial exclusion from the China List 3 tariffs. In total, certain products within 10 HTS subheadings will be exempt from the current additional 25% tariffs that were initially applied in September 2018 at a rate of 10%. The additional tariff increased from 10% to 25% on May 10th, 2019.

These partial exclusions may be applied retroactively to September 24, 2018, and may be requested for up to one year after the official notice is posted in the Federal Register.

The list of HTS subheadings that have been granted partial exclusion from the List 3 25% tariffs are as follows:

3923.10.9000, 3923.50.0000, 3926.90.3000, 5402.20.3010, 5603.92.0090, 7323.99.9080, 8716.80.5090, 8716.90.5060, 8903.10.0060 and 8903.10.0060.

A copy of the Federal Register Notice which contains the specific product information can be found here.

For questions, please contact your V. Alexander account team.

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Update 06/21/2019:

Further to our earlier News Alert on May 29, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a notice on June 20 providing their plans to open an electronic portal which will be used for requesting exclusions for products contained in List 3.

Products granted an exclusion will be retroactively applied to September 24, 2018 when additional duties for Section 301 List 3 products were first imposed.

The June 20 Federal Register Notice can be found here.

The link to the electronic exclusion request portal can be found here.

Lastly, the USTR has a site designed to assist importers with understanding the additional China duties. It’s a handy tool and has helpful features that is beneficial to importers affected by these duties.

V. Alexander will continue to monitor this and provide updates when available. Should you have any questions, please contact your account team!

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05/29/2019

The USTR has requested emergency approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to gather information as part of the China 301 List 3 exclusion process, which is intended to benefit “interested U.S. parties” affected by the List 3 tariffs. Published in a Federal Register notice Tuesday 84 FR 23145 (found here), comments to the OMB are due June 7th, approval by OMB is expected by June 20th, and the target start for the exclusion application process is June 30th. OMB approval of the form and data gathering is expected. The information required for the application request are included in the Federal Register, and can serve as the basis for preparation of the exclusion requests by “interested U.S. parties”. The form itself will be finalized at a later date, but with this information you can begin preparing for an exclusion request if you decide to do so. Note that each request is for a particular product within an affected HTS provision.

Here are the pertinent dates to consider……

June 7 – Comments to OMB on the proposed data collection and form
June 20 – OMB confirmation of the proposed data collection
June 30 – Expected start of filings for exclusion process
December 20 – Expected end date for filing exclusion requests

Time frames:

14 days after filing – Comments by interested parties supporting or opposing exclusion request
7 days later – Rebuttal or other comments responding to supporting or opposing comments

V. Alexander will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as they become available.

Please contact your account team with any questions.