USTR Publishes Draft Forms for Exclusion Requests Relating to China 301 List 3

USTR is establishing a process by which U.S. stakeholders can request the exclusion of particular products classified within a covered tariff subheading from the additional duties that went into effect on September 21, 2018, and May 10, 2019. USTR anticipates that the window for submitting exclusion requests will open on or around June 30, 2019. Requests for exclusion will have to identify a particular product and provide supporting data and the rationale for the requested exclusion. Within 14 days after USTR posts a request for exclusion, interested persons can provide a response with the reasons they support or oppose the request. Interested persons can reply to the response within 7 days after it is posted. To assist in timely and comprehensive review of requests for exclusion, USTR will require respondents to use a prescribed Exclusion Request/Response/Reply Form.

The draft form, which is now out for comment through June 7, 2019, is available HERE.

USTR has not yet announced the deadline for filing for exclusions from List 3\1\. In the case of List 1 and List 2, there was a three-month window from the announcement of the filing period to the closing. The first two lists resulted in nearly 14,000 requests. For List 3 USTR is anticipating a staggering 60,000 requests will be filed. USTR estimates it will take petitioners on average an hour to file a request, a number that seems low, considering that requests relating to List 1 and List 2 took twice that and required less information from the petitioner than called for in the draft form for List 3.

\1\ Note. (USTR) has ubmitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency review and clearance on or about June 20, 2019, that will be effective for six months from that date, for the exclusion request form.