USTR

Tariff Turmoil Gets Hotter!
birds eye view photo of freight containers

Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

By Susan Kohn Ross

As has been widely reported, on Friday, first President Trump announced and then USTR Lighthizer confirmed the 301 tariffs on goods out of China will increase. Specifically, the tariffs on the goods on Lists 1, 2 and 3 will rise from 25% to 30% starting October 1, 2019, while the tariffs on the List 4 products will start at 15% on September 1, 2019 or December 15, 2019, rather than the original 10%, depending on whether your product is on List 4A or List 4B. USTR also acknowledged there will be a notice and comment period provided in the Federal Register notice to follow. While no doubt many American traders hope the possibility exists to remove products from any of the lists, that seems highly unlikely. While this upheaval continues, companies should also keep in mind the ability to seek exclusions for goods on List 3 expires on September 30, 2019. The exclusion process for goods on List 4 has still not been published. (more…)

China Tariff Update: List 4, Next Steps
Truck in port

Photo credit: iStock.com/nightman1965

By Susan Kohn Ross

While the Federal Register notice containing all the relevant details has yet to be published, today, the U.S. Trade Representative published an announcement confirming that certain unidentified products were removed from List 4 for health, safety, national security and similar reasons, and those remaining would be rolled out on two different lists with two different effective dates. List 4A will be effective September 1, 2019 and can be found here. List 4B can be found here, and will be effective on December 15, 2019. USTR notes the products on List 4B include “cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing.” Given the contents of List 4B, one is left to wonder whether USTR was trying to avoid making Christmas too grim for American consumers! (more…)

The Trade War Wages On
Economic trade war between USA and China

Photo credit: iStock.com/cybrain

By Susan Kohn Ross

As has been repeatedly mentioned in the general press, President Trump tweeted on August 1st that the U.S. “will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country.” There are lots of questions about what that short message actually means, and right now, no answers. So far, there is no official notice from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for publication in the Federal Register. There is nothing new posted on the USTR website. We know the President said he picked September 1st because there are goods on the water, but we do not know whether September 1st is the date by which the goods must arrive in the U.S., or must be exported from China. Will the products on List 4 change from those originally published? Whatever goods are on the final version of List 4, will at least some of the products be listed to the 10-digit level? Right now, all products are listed to the eight-digit level, but the descriptions assigned to those classifications, in some cases, do not include all the products encompassed by the very different products classified under that eight-digit number. This is typically the case due to either the type of good or its constituent material. (more…)

China 301 List 3 Exclusion Process Announced

Photo credit: iStock.com/FilmColoratStudio

By Susan Kohn Ross

 

In the June 20, 2019 pre-publication edition of the Federal Register, the U.S. Trade Representative announced the long awaited process for seeking exclusions for goods on List 3, the one which recently went from 10% to 25%. While the exclusion process itself generally mirrors the process applied to those goods on Lists 1 and 2, there are a few differences, but let’s start at the beginning.

Any exclusion request for List 3 goods must be filed between June 30 and September 30, 2019. The request must be filed through the portal: http://exclusions.ustr.gov (active beginning June 30, 2019). One new wrinkle is parties must register in the portal before filing. (more…)

Tariff Turmoil
USA and Chinese flags on mountain signpost.

Photo credit: iStock.com/Darwel

By Susan Kohn Ross

The last few days have seen some startling developments regarding trade between the U.S. and China. Perhaps none of this is remarkable given the current climate, but trying to keep track has caused untold whiplash!

On May 10, we learned from USTR the timing of the 25% tariff on List 3 was changed. It is now applicable to goods entered on or after June 1, 2019. Given that CBP originally programmed its computer and the 25% on List 3 goods applied so long as the arrival date was May 10 or later, if you get caught in the payment timing cycle of having to pay the 25%, you will want to coordinate with your customs broker to file a Post Summary Correction and seek a 15% refund. (more…)

No Further Shutdown; List 3 Exclusion Process Coming
USA and Chinese flags on mountain signpost.

Photo credit: iStock.com/Darwel

By Susan Kohn Ross

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019 was signed into law on Friday, February 15, 2019, so the potential for another shutdown was averted, but there was a hidden gem buried in a related document. This new law contains a specific appropriation for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office which reads: “For necessary expenses of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, … $53,000,000, …” (more…)

China Tariffs – List 3 Finalized and Taking Effect
Economic trade war between USA and China

Photo credit: iStock.com/cybrain

In this video blog, MSK Partner & International Trade Practice Chair Susan Kohn Ross covers the latest developments with the 301 tariffs. 

At the end of the day on September 17, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative issued notice that List 3 of the China tariffs has been finalized and takes effect with a 10% tariff on September 24, 2018. If “sufficient” progress is not made with the Chinese as defined by the Trump Administration, that tariff rate will rise to 25% on January 1, 2019. List 3 is the list containing products worth $200 billion.

The USTR announcement can be found here. The original list of products was 6,031. The final list was reduced to 5,745 and can be found here.

To no one’s surprise, the Chinese immediately announced their own retaliatory action and those details can be found here. (more…)

China 301 List 2 – Effective August 23, 2018
USA and Chinese flags on mountain signpost.

Photo credit: iStock.com/Darwel

By Susan Kohn Ross

USTR Lighthizer yesterday published notice that the 25% tariff on goods appearing on List 2 will become effective on August 23, 2018. For those who wonder if filing comments makes a difference, the answer is yes! In his announcement, USTR Lighthizer made the point the list dropped from 284 to 279 tariff items based on testimony and comments which had been received. None of this, of course, helps those companies which are taking a serious financial hit from these tariffs, but then once the official notice is published in the Federal Register, an exclusion request will be included, and so companies should be gearing up to do two things: (more…)

Brief Updates on China 301 List 3

By Susan Kohn Ross

On August 1, 2018, USTR Lighthizer issued a press release indicating he was following through with President Trump’s direction and will consider raising the rate of duty from 10% to 25% on those products on China 301 List 3. A formal notice in the Federal Register is expected soon.

Mr. Lighthizer also announced the written comment period is being extended to September 5, 2018, while the deadline to request to appear at the public hearing is changed to August 13, 2018. The hearing itself is still scheduled for August 20 to 23, 2018.

There is a new publication which appeared on the USTR website on August 2, 2018. In it, USTR clarifies the August 17, 2018 deadline for comments regarding products on the China 301 List 3 has also been extended to September 5, 2018.

8/7/18 UPDATE:

In the August 7, 2018 Federal Register, U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer published the latest official timeline for those planning to participate in the China 301 List 3 proceedings. The relevant dates are:

  • August 13, 2018 – due date for filing requests to be a witness and a summary of expected testimony;
  • August 20-23, 2018 – public hearing dates;
  • September 6, 2018 – due date of submission of comments and post-hearing rebuttal comments – this deadline was previously announced as September 5, 2018.

For those planning to participate in this part of the 301 case, these are the dates by which to be governed.

China 301: List 3 Now A Reality
China United States Trade Solution

Photo credit: iStock.com/wildpixel

By Susan Kohn Ross

Late on July 10, 2018, U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer released a list of the next Chinese-made products targeted for additional duties, this time at a 10% rate and worth about $200 billion. The statement in support of this action can be found here, and the list of affected products here. As before, the list of products is released in Federal Register pre-publication format.

The dates to keep in mind are as follows… (more…)