Correction: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn't include surgical masks or subheading 6307.90.9889 in the first group of Section 301 tariffs, but did include subheading 4015.19.0510 (see 2003060042). Multiple product descriptions, including surgical masks, under subheading 6307.90.9889 were included in new exclusions released March 13 (see 2003130010).
CBP added on March 12 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS message. The official Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice for the exclusions was published on Feb. 20 (see 2002190015). The exclusions are in subheading 9903.88.40. 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. 24, 2018, and will expire after Aug. 7, 2020. The CSMS message also includes a summary of Section 301 duties that shows information on each tranche of tariffs and granted product exclusions.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued new medical supply product exclusions from the fourth group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs "are reflected in 19 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 39 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020.
In the March 4 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 54, No. 8), CBP published notices that propose to modify rulings and similar treatment for country of origin under Section 301 tariffs and for footwear.
The International Trade Commission recently issued Revision 5 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new version implements recent changes to Section 301 tariffs on the European Union related to the Boeing-Airbus dispute at the World Trade Organization (see 2002180040). New subheading 9903.89.52 is added for newly tariffed knives from the United Kingdom and Germany. Subheading 9903.89.05 should be amended to increase the tariff on new airplanes from France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. from 10% to 15%, but the change was not actually made in the tariff schedule. Notes 21(a), (g) and (q) are amended to reflect the changes, including the removal of a classification for blended Scotch and Irish whiskies that carried no additional duty. These changes took effect March 5.
The U.S. should “develop a targeted list of products for which Section 301 tariffs and retaliatory tariffs can be suspended or removed to spur economic growth and job creation,” the National Association of Manufacturers said in a set of recommendations for the federal government response to the COVD-19 outbreak. NAM also suggested “temporary duty waivers and expedited entry procedures to facilitate cross-border trade in health care items” and extensions of tariff relief programs “to allow import of components used in U.S. manufacturing of coronavirus-needed products.” The U.S. should also begin negotiations with other countries to reduce tariffs on items needed for the response and create an “interagency initiative to identify and reduce trade and regulatory barriers to U.S. exports of products used in a pandemic response.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, speaking to reporters on a conference call March 10, addressed his participation in a friend of the court brief by saying that he hasn't turned away from the idea of legislating in favor of lawsuits. Grassley, along with the top Democrat on his committee and other senators, entered a friend of the court brief designed to force the administration to publish its report on why imported autos and auto parts are a threat to national security (see 2003090034). He said both the law that contains Section 232 and the law that allowed for the Section 301 tariffs on China need to be fixed to give Congress more say on tariff policy. “I think we can do more in the legislative approach than you can in the courts, but we’re looking at both,” he said. “You take every opportunity you can to make sure the Constitution is followed.”
CBP added on March 10 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the fourth tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS message. The exclusions cover various medical supplies. “In addition to reporting the regular Chapters 34, 39, 40, 48, 62 and 63 classifications of the HTSUS for the imported merchandise, importers shall report the HTSUS classification 9903.88.39,” CBP said. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently added eight new exclusions from 4A tranche of goods (see 2003060042). The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 2-6 in case they were missed.
The COVID-19 outbreak will have “a longer and larger impact” on imports at major U.S. retail container ports than previously thought, the National Retail Federation said March 9. “Factory shutdowns and travel restrictions in China continue to affect production,” it said. Though plants continue to come back online, “there are still issues affecting cargo movement, including the availability of truck drivers to move cargo to Chinese ports,” it said. “Uncertainty has expanded exponentially.” NRF canvassed its membership and found 40% are seeing disruptions to their supply chains, and another 26% “expect to see disruptions as the situation continues,” it said. U.S. retail ports handled 1.82 million 20-foot-long cargo containers or their equivalents in January, up 5.7% from December, but down 3.8% from January 2019, when the Section 301 tariffs spurred “unusually high numbers” of imports, NRF said. It estimates February port activity will be 12.6% lower than a year earlier and is forecasting an 18.3% decline in year-over-year March volume.