USTR Announces Tariff Provisions Scheduled for China Tariff Increases

The U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) has issued a Federal Register Notice today outlining which tariff provisions in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) are scheduled for Section 301 tariff increases. As explained in our advisory last week, President Biden directed USTR to maintain the Section 301 tariffs currently levied on goods from China, while also significantly increasing the tariffs for certain products.

Consistent with the President’s directions, the USTR has now specified the 382 HTSUS Subheadings and 5 HTSUS statistical reporting numbers slated for Section 301 tariff increases when imported from China. A complete list of the impacted tariff provisions can be found here. The USTR is proposing that the Section 301 tariff increases scheduled for 2024 be effective August 1, 2024, and that increases in 2025 and 2026 be effective January 1 of the corresponding year.

Considering Section 301 exclusions, the USTR confirmed the establishment of a new, but very focused and limited, exclusion process limited to machinery used in domestic manufacturing and classified under certain specified tariff provisions in HTSUS Chapters 84 and 85. A complete list of the tariff provisions proposed for the exclusion process can be found here. Procedures for requesting exclusions under this process will be published in a separate notice.

Further, the USTR also confirmed the 19 “temporary” exclusions for certain solar manufacturing equipment, which can be found here. The temporary exclusions for manufacturing equipment, both solar and in other sectors, will be effective through May 31, 2025.

The USTR will be accepting written comments regarding the proposed Section 301 tariff increases and exclusion process from May 29 until June 28, 2024. Comments are encouraged and serve as crucial tool for interested parties to identify any potential pitfalls in the USTR’s strategy or potentially influence the final implementation of these trade measures.

For assistance in submitting a comment, assessing your supply chain for mitigation of Section 301 tariffs, or navigating the forthcoming exclusion process, please contact one of our trade professionals here.