The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) on May 13, 2019, released a list of approximately $300 billion in goods imported from China that it is proposing to be subject to 25 percent duties. The announcement follows a May 5, 2019, statement by President Trump that all remaining imports from China not already covered by Section 301 would soon be subject to additional duties.
The additional products listed in the May 13 announcement effectively cover most of the remaining U.S. imports from China, including the following categories:
- Agricultural and food products, including meat, dairy, produce, and alcohol;
- Industrial chemicals, minerals, and other raw materials;
- Live animals including livestock, insects, and birds;
- Steel and aluminum products currently excluded from List 1 duties during the comment period but subject to additional duties under Section 232;
- Other base metals;
- Textiles and apparel, including footwear;
- Household goods;
- Jewelry, gemstones, and precious metals;
- Machinery, computers, televisions, and other electronics;
- Vehicles including motorcycles, watercraft, and aircraft;
- Numerous categories of scrap and waste materials;
- Firearms, ammunition, and other weapons;
- Recreational equipment;
- Personal hygiene and grooming items; and
- Books and artwork.
Numerous HTS subheadings that were removed via the comment and hearing process from the $34 billion (“List 1”), $16 billion (“List 2”) and $200 billion (“List 3”) lists are included in the new $300 billion list (“List 4”). However, the notice states that products excluded via the formal exclusion process for Lists 1 and 2 will not be affected. Nevertheless, if your product was excluded from either List 1 or 2 (as opposed to being removed via the comment and hearing process), we recommend checking to see that the products were not inadvertently included on List 4.
The proposed tariffs will be in addition to any existing customs duties and antidumping and countervailing duties.
USTR will hold a public hearing on this proposal on June 17 and requests to appear at this hearing are due June 10. Written comments, including input on the specific tariff levels that should be imposed and requests to exclude specific subheadings from the proposed tariff increase, are due June 17. The tariff hike could be implemented any time after June 24 in any amount up to 25 percent, on top of the regular rate of duty.
See the full breakdown of commodities included in the list 4 here
Source: natlawreview.com & strtrade.com
