The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced the first round of exclusions from the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs. The exclusions will take effect retroactively from September 24, 2018 – the date the third tranche went into effect – and will remain in effect for one year following the publication of the announcement in the Federal Register.
Similar to previous announcements of product exclusions, the USTR has created subheading 9903.88.12 in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) to be used for Customs processing.
This most recent round of exclusions covers the following ten “specially prepared product descriptions”:
- Container units of plastics, each comprising a tub and lid therefore, configured or fitted for the conveyance, packing, or dispensing of wet wipes (described in statistical reporting number 3923.10.9000)
- Injection molded polypropylene plastic caps or lids each weighing not over 24 grams designed for dispensing wet wipes (described in statistical reporting number 3923.50.0000)
- Kayak paddles, double ended, with shafts of aluminum and blades of fiberglass reinforced nylon (described in statistical reporting number 3926.90.3000)
- High tenacity polyester yarn not over 600 decitex (described in statistical reporting n umber 5402.20.3010)
- Nonwovens weighing more than 25 g/m2 but not more than 70 g/m2 in rolls, not impregnated coated or covered (described in statistical reporting number 5603.92.0090)
- Pet cages of steel (described in statistical reporting number 7323.99.9080)
- Carts, not mechanically propelled, each with three or four wheels, of the kind used for household shopping (described in statistical reporting number 8716.80.5090)
- Truck trailer skirt brackets, other than parts of general use of Section XV (described in statistical reporting number 8716.90.5060)
- Inflatable boats, other than kayaks and canoes, with over 20 gauge polyvinyl chloride (PVC), each valued at $500 or less and weighing not over 52 kg (described in statistical reporting number 8903.10.0060)
- Inflatable kayaks and canoes, with over 20 gauge polyvinyl chloride (PVC), each valued at $500 or less and weighing not over 22 kg (described in statistical reporting number 8903.10.0060).
FULL USTR NOTICE OF PRODUCT EXCLUSIONS
On June 24, 2019, USTR announced the requirements for submitting exclusion requests, which included:
- A product description detailing the physical characteristics that distinguish it from other products within the relevant 8-digit subheading;
- The most applicable 10-digit subheading of the HTSUS;
- The quantity and value of the Chinese-origin product that the requestor purchased in the last three years.
In addition, the requests were required to contain information regarding:
- Whether the particular product is available only from China and specifically whether the particular product and/or a comparable product is available from sources in the United States and/or third countries;
- Whether the imposition of additional duties on the particular product would cause severe economic harm to the requestor or other U.S. interests; and
- Whether the particular product is strategically important or related to “Made in China 2025” or other Chinese industrial programs.
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