News / Supply Chain Alerts

On Wednesday, March 20, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released a second Notice of Product Exclusions to the Section 301 List 1 products currently subject to a 25% tariff.

The scope of each exclusion is governed by the 10-digit level Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers and the descriptions identified in the notice. It is important to note that these exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the official notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. If you import products that fall under these descriptions, you will be able to claim an exclusion using HTS number 9903.88.06.

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In a press release dated March 4, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced “the United States intends to terminate India’s and Turkey’s designation as beneficiary developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program because they no longer comply with the statutory eligibility criteria.”

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On February 24, 2019, the President of the United States announced that the increase in tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Section 301 List 3 imports from China scheduled for March 2, 2019, is being postponed. The tariffs will remain at 10% for the foreseeable future as no new deadline for increasing the duties has been announced.

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The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) finalized their Section 232 investigation into automotive imports and presented their findings to the President of the United States on February 17, 2019. The president now has 90 days to decide whether to act upon any of the recommendations.

In May 2018, the DOC self-initiated the investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine whether imports of automobiles and automotive parts threaten to impair U.S. national security. If the DOC makes an affirmative determination and the president concurs, he has the authority to adjust imports, including the use of tariffs and quotas. Any action to be taken would be imposed within 15 days of the president’s decision.

The final report has not yet been released to the public. If the process is the same as the Section 232 investigation on steel and aluminum, the report would be released within the next few weeks.

For more information please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.

On February 15, 2019, the President of the United States signed a mini-omnibus bill which requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to introduce an exclusion process for Section 301 List 3 products to Congress by March 17, 2019. The tariffs on List 3 products are currently set at 10 percent and are scheduled to increase to 25 percent on March 2, 2019.

In an explanatory statement accompanying the appropriations legislation, the USTR office was directed to establish a List 3 exclusion process “following the same procedures as those in rounds 1 and 2”.

For more information please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.

On January 11, 2019, in letters to lawmakers, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer made clear that an exclusion process will not be initiated for the Section 301 List 3 products unless negotiations with China fail and the tariff on $200 Billion is raised from 10% to 25%. This increase is currently scheduled for March 2, 2019.

Lighthizer went on to address a request to exempt Chinese goods admitted into Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ’s) by noting, “the longstanding rules and practices governing such entries continue to apply.” He continued, “As of this time, we have not found a basis for exempting U.S. importers who use FTZ’s from the additional duties when those duties apply to all other U.S. importers.”

For more information please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.