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.

President Biden has announced a series of increases on Section 301 tariffs focused on approximately $18 billion worth of imports from China in response to the country’s unfair trade practices. Following a statutorily mandated review of the Section 301 tariffs on imports from China, the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) has recommended in its report to President Biden that products currently subject to section 301 tariffs on goods from China remain subject to the existing additional tariffs, while certain categories of products will see significant increases in the additional tariffs assessed.

On March 12, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received a petition from various labor unions addressing China's policies concerning critical maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. The petition seeks relief from alleged unfair trade practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 - the same statute that has been used to address other unfair trade allegations resulting in the current special tariffs assessed against China.

On December 26, 2023, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) extended 429 total Section 301 tariff exclusions on Chinese goods.

On October 4, 2023, the US Aluminum Extruders Coalition and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (collectively, the "Petitioners") filed an antidumping ("AD") and countervailing ("CVD") duty petition before the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) concerning aluminum extrusions and merchandise produced from aluminum extrusions.

On May 19, 2023, the United States introduced a number of expanded sanctions and export controls on Russia and Belarus. These sanctions were imposed following the G7 Leaders’ Summit meeting conducted the prior week in Japan, and were coordinated with similar measures imposed by the other G7 countries and with Australia in an effort to further curtail the development of Russia’s military and industrial sectors in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In this advisory, we focus on the new sanctions and export controls that were imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”).

The Court of International Trade (CIT) issued its decision in the lead case challenging the imposition of List 3 / 4A Section 301 China tariffs. In Re Section 301 Cases, CIT Docket No. 21-00052. The CIT ruled that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) had the authority to impose List 3 & 4A tariffs while in direct response to China imposing retaliatory tariffs. A copy of the decision can be accessed here.

On October 8, 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) invited the public to comment on whether to reinstate particular exclusions previously granted and extended under prior Section 301 tariff exclusion rounds. The USTR has just announced which of these exclusions will be granted reinstatement and tariff relief.

The USTR has announced that the agency will open a comment period on whether to reinstate certain Section 301 tariff exclusions that were previously extended in the past, but were allowed to expire. A copy of the USTR notice can be found here. The process will be limited to those tariff exclusions where the agency had previously received a request to extend coverage of the exclusion, and the agency had granted the extension. Therefore, this process is limited to 549 exclusions identified by the agency. The complete list can be accessed here.

Later today, the U.S. Trade Representative will address the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C. In advance of this speech, the USTR signaled over the weekend it intends to restart the Section 301 Exclusion Process which would enable companies to apply for relief from current tariff assessments against Chinese origin goods.

With the imminent transfer of power to President-Elect Biden on January 20, 2021, the Trump Administration has spent its final days engaging in a last-minute blitz of rulemaking further targeting export licensing requirements and restrictions involving technology and sanctions primarily with China. Each of these actions are notable in their own right; taken together, they represent agencies furiously working to buttress President Trump’s national security and foreign trade agenda, particularly with respect to U.S. tightening of export licensing requirements and sanctions on entities in China, before the expiration of his term.

Earlier this evening, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that it will extend certain relief on China tariffs for PPE and medical care products. The relief comes as certain product exclusions were set to expire at the end of the year. The USTR has announced that these extended product exclusions will apply as of January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2021.

With the end of the year fast approaching many importers that rely on current China tariff exemptions are facing the imminent loss of relief. Remaining active USTR exclusions will expire on December 31, 2020. As a result, Congressional pressure is mounting for the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to allow for an automatic extension of relief during this period of transition.

There is still time for importers who have not filed a lawsuit in the Court of International Trade challenging List 3 and 4A tariffs to obtain partial, if not complete, relief.

In follow up to our prior client advisory, we are pleased to report that over 3000 plaintiffs have filed suit at the Court of International Trade challenging List 3 and 4 tariffs imposed on goods from China.

On Sept. 10, several importers filed a judicial challenge to the USTR’s authority to assess List 3 Section 301 (China) tariffs. These actions were filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT).

The plaintiffs argue that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) failed to follow certain statutory timeframes when implementing List 3 and 4A tariffs more than a year after the initial Section 301 investigation was commenced under the Trade Act of 1974. The actions also allege the USTR unlawfully imposed these tariffs in response to retaliatory tariffs enacted by China, rather than the intellectual property violations initially cited in the investigation.

Rock Trade Law is pleased to announce an expansion of our duty drawback services. The consulting firm, Kennard & Associates, will join our existing personnel to offer expanded duty drawback capabilities effective August 1, 2020. Rock Trade Law will also expand its portfolio of services to include vessel repair entry filings.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that it will postpone the deadline for deposit of estimated duties, taxes and fees for 90 days for importers impacted by COVID-19. This temporary rule was announced via a CBP message which can be accessed here. The postponement is available to importers experiencing a significant financial hardship due to COVID-19.