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.
CBP added on July 16 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the fourth tranche of Section 301 tariffs, a CSMS message said. The new exclusions (see 2007090035) are in subheading 9903.88.51. CBP also provided information about some modifications to current exclusions, including several for face masks, to reflect recent changes to the tariff schedule that took effect July 1. The exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the Annex to USTR’s notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020.
CBP added on July 16 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs, a CSMS message said. The official Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice for the new exclusion for motorboats was published June 24 (see 2006190034). The exclusions are in subheading 9903.88.48. They are available for any product that meets the description in the Annex to USTR’s notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the fourth list took effect, and remain in effect until Aug. 7. The CSMS message also includes information about recently granted extensions for 12 exclusions from the first list of Section 301 tariffs on China that were due to expire July 9 (see 2007080025).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative received close to 400 comments on the possibility of punishing Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom if they start collecting digital service taxes, as the countries have proposed. The USTR is also considering punishing the European Union, which is considering a unionwide DST.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2006 on July 15, containing 544 Automated Broker Interface records and 114 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update covers recent Section 301 tariff exclusions. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.L.Keeling@cbp.dhs.gov.
The International Trade Commission is asking for an additional $2.75 million over its current funding level of $99.4 million because of the demands of high levels of antidumping and Section 337 investigations, and the requirement to do an investigation on “whether the U.S. long-haul trucking industry is materially harmed by an increase in cross-border trucking services provided by Mexican suppliers.” That investigation is part of USMCA implementation.
CBP “is evaluating” the “operational approach to implementing the President’s direction” in light of the executive order ending Hong Kong's special trade status (see 2007150054), a CBP spokesperson emailed July 16. “The EO instructs agencies to commence appropriate actions within 15 days,” the spokesperson said. “We’ll be able to share more information soon.”
CBP does not have the authority to extend deadlines for filing protests so that importers can claim refunds of Section 301 tariffs on goods granted exclusions well after liquidation, though a path to refunds may be possible via the reconciliation process, Ana Hinojosa, executive director of CBP’s trade remedy and law enforcement division, said during the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee's July 15 meeting.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether recently granted (see 2007090035) and coming tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 4 should be extended beyond Sept. 1, it said in a notice. While USTR recently issued a request for comment on the previous five sets of exclusions expiring Sept. 1 (see 2006250001), it is also considering extensions for “exclusions granted under the sixth notice and a forthcoming seventh notice of product exclusions.” The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on July 15. The comments are due by Aug. 14, it said. The evaluation's focus will be on whether, despite the first imposition of these additional duties, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order ending Hong Kong's special trade status on July 14. As a result, goods imported from Hong Kong must be marked “Made in China.” The action comes about six weeks after Trump warned the change was coming.