List 3 China 301 Tariffs to Have Exclusion Process

In the appriations bill signed last week, Congress provided funds for the Office of the United States Trade Representative and in Explanatory Statement directed USTR to establish an exclusion process, similar to the process for goods on List 1 and List 2, no later than March 17, 2019.

Companies seeking to file for exclusions should begin preparing now, as the process requires highly detailed product description. If Agathon Associates assisted you with comments or hearing testimony relating to List 3, contact David Trumbull at david@agathonassociates.com to set up an appointment to begin the evaluation of any potential exclusion filings.

Here is the relevant language in the Explanatory Statement--

Section 301 Exclusion Process. USTR has finalized tariffs on goods from China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in three separate rounds, and provided an exclusion process that allows U.S. businesses to obtain relief from the Section 301 tariffs for goods subject to tariffs in rounds 1 and 2. It is concerning that there is no exclusion process for goods subject to tariffs in round 3 of the Section 301 proceedings, as was done in the first two rounds. USTR shall establish an exclusion process for tariffs imposed on goods subject to Section 301 tariffs in round 3. This process should be initiated no later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, following the same procedures as those in rounds 1 and 2, allowing stakeholders to request that particular products classified within a tariff subheading subject to new round 3 tariffs be excluded from the Section 301 tariffs. USTR shall consult with the Committees on Appropriations, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance regarding the nature and timing of the exclusion process. USTR shall also report to such committees no later than 30 days after enactment of this Act on the status of the exclusion process.