President Trump tweeted earlier today that the United States will impose a 10% additional duty on Chinese articles included on List 4 beginning September 1, 2019. List 4 has not yet been finalized as to product coverage; but at last publication covered all apparel, footwear, and manufactured textile products. The List also covered a host of consumer products, including electronics, cellphones and toys.
List 4 excluded pharmaceuticals, certain pharmaceutical inputs, select medical goods, rare earth materials, and critical minerals. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office will finalize List 4 and issue a Federal Register notice soon.
The imposition of tariffs on List 4 is in response to China’s decision to re-negotiate the trade deal that was nearly completed recently. The actions also come in response to recent failures to buy agricultural products from the United States, and China’s failure to stop the flow of Fentanyl to the United States.
It remains unclear whether an exclusion process will be offered for these tariffs, as was the case for Lists 1-3. Given that the initial tariff was set at 10%, it seems likely the USTR will not offer an exclusion process unless the tariff rate is raised to a higher amount later – as was the case with List 3.
These actions come as most companies are working to administer or apply for exclusions for items on Lists 1-3. Should you need assistance on mitigation strategies or filing for an exclusion request, please contact one of the trade professionals listed here.