A “key thing” about the Trade Act Section 301 tariff exclusions on Chinese goods that have been granted or extended is that most are set to expire Dec. 31, Nicole Bivens Collinson, president-international trade and government relations with Sandler Travis, said during a Sports & Fitness Industry Association webinar July 23. If President Donald Trump is reelected, she believes, his administration “will view that as a mandate” for eradicating tariff exclusions permanently, she said.
Correction: The July 14 executive order ending Hong Kong's special trade status doesn't result in Hong Kong goods being subject to Section 301 duties and antidumping and countervailing duties (see 2007150054).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated July 23. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
A recent executive order suspending Hong Kong's special trade status won't result in additional tariffs on goods from Hong Kong, a senior administration official said in a July 23 email. “The July 14, 2020, Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization does not provide for new U.S. tariffs on goods from Hong Kong,” the official said. “The Administration will continue to evaluate and adjust our policies as conditions warrant.”
The $38 million in Section 301 tariff costs iRobot incurred in 2019 inflicted a hit of three percentage points on its gross margin for the year, CEO Colin Angle said. IRobot assumes the List 3 tariff exclusion it landed in April on the robotic vacuum cleaners it sources from China will expire at the end of 2020, he said. The reinstatement of 25% tariffs on Chinese goods will result in a “similar contraction” to 2021 gross margin, he said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer “made it quite explicit” in congressional testimony last month that any granted List 3 exemptions “would expire at the end of the year,” Angle said. Lighthizer’s testimony “is the most explicit guidance that we have been given,” he said July 22 following quarterly results.
Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee, said that incentives to move medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and medical supply manufacturing out of China and to the U.S. and “reliable trade partners” is something House Republicans would like to see as part of the next COVID-19 relief package.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from July 13-17 in case they were missed.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another set of product exclusions from the fourth group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "11 existing ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and 53 specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 242 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, the date the fourth set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will be in effect until Sept. 1.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced a new round of product exclusions for products on the fourth list of Section 301 tariffs on products from China. New subheading 9903.88.53 will be used for the new exclusions. The new set of exclusions are reflected in “11 existing ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and 53 specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 242 separate exclusion requests,” according to the notice.