Americans for Free Trade, a coalition of more than 100 trade groups, asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to extend a public comment period to respond to proposed changes to the Section 301 tariffs and a new product exclusion process limited to industrial machinery. They said another 30 days would be in the public interest.
Section 301 tariff exclusion extensions
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2404 on June 4, containing 44 Automated Broker Interface (ABI) records and 13 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. The update includes a partner government agency Harmonized Tariff Schedule flag indicator update, extensions to Section 301 exclusions (see 2405240068), and an update noting the continued suspension of the 25% Section 232 tariffs under subheadings 9903.81.82, 9903.81.83, 9903.81.84 on steel and derivative steel products imported from Ukraine.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative decided to extend 164 Section 301 tariff exclusions through May 31, and the other 265 exclusions will expire June 14.
Many importers who were hit with Section 301 tariffs six years ago expected they would be rolled back in 18 months or two or three years, said Nicole Bivens Collinson, director of Sandler Travis's international trade and government relations practice. Then, once that didn't happen, they thought they'd see what happened in the Biden administration.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Adrian Smith called out U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai for the lengthy wait for the Section 301 tariffs review, which officially started in July 2022 after a round of comments that year in May in favor of extending the action.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2024 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the restoration of AGOA benefits for Mauritania and their removal for the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger and Uganda, as well as a lengthy list of 10-digit-level changes for fruits and vegetables, chemicals, medicaments and recycled aluminum. Changes were effective as of Jan. 1 unless otherwise noted.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
More than 400 products that are excluded from Section 301 tariffs will continue to enter under normal duties through May 31, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Dec. 26. The exclusions had been scheduled to end at the end of this year.
The International Trade Commission recently released Revision 11 to the 2023 Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which extended the dates of subheadings 9903.88.67 and 9903.88.68 through Dec. 31. Both subheadings cover product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs. The 67 subheading covers a variety of pumps, actuators and other mechanical appliances of Chapters 84, 85, 86, and 90. The 68 subheading covers a variety of medical devices.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, speaking by video link at an Atlantic Council/Atlantik-Brücke program in Berlin Sept. 22, said she remains "very hopeful that we will have something to show the rest of the world in the next six-week period" as EU and U.S. negotiators continue to try to harmonize both trade defenses and approaches to privileging trade in green steel and aluminum.