News & Insights
Midsummer Update on U.S. Trade and Tariff Actions under Sections 232 and 301
As we near the mid-point of the summer, we thought it would be wise to provide an update on the various U.S. trade and tariff actions under Sections 232 and 301 in case either the Arizona heat or the humidity hitting the rest of the country have taken a toll on weary importers. The following provides a run-down of the most recent events:
| DATE |
TRADE & TARIFF ACTION
|
| July 11th | Section 301 – US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a CSMS message announcing that it will add the ability in ACE for importers to file entries on approved exclusions from the List 1 goods. |
| July 10th | Section 301- USTR announced a new Section 301 investigation of France’s proposed new digital services tax which would levy a 3% tax on the French revenues of high technology companies providing digital services in France if: (a) their worldwide revenues exceed 750 euros; or, (ii) their French revenues exceed 25 million euros. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the US may suspend or withdraw trade agreement benefits, enter negotiations with France, or restrict service sector authorizations. |
| July 9th | Section 301 – USTR granted additional exclusions for the List 1 goods covering 100 product descriptions and representing 362 requests that were filed. The exclusions are retroactive to July 6, 2018 and will remain in effect until July 9, 2020. |
| June 4th | Section 301 – USTR granted additional exclusions for List 1 goods, covering approximately 464 separate exclusion requests. The exclusions are retroactive to July 6, 2018 and will remain in effect until July 9, 2020. |
| June 30th | Section 301 – USTR opened its online portal (http://exclusions.USTR.gov) for the submission of the Section 301 exclusion requests for the List 3 goods. Exclusion requests may be submitted until September 30, 2019. |
| June 29th | Section 301 – President Trump and President Xi met to continue negotiations to resolve the trade dispute. |
| June 17th – 25th | Section 301 – USTR held public hearings on proposed tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports (List 4 Goods). |
| June 17th | Section 301 – Deadline for public comments on the proposed List 4 tariffs. |
| June 10th | Section 301 – USTR extended the entry deadline for List 3 products—those products from China exported to the U.S. prior to May 10, 2019 had to have entered the United States prior to June 15th to avoid the increased 25% tariff rate. |
| June 4th | Section 301 – USTR granted additional exclusions for the List 1 goods covering 464 separate exclusion requests. The exclusions are retroactive to July 6, 2018 and will remain in effect until July 9, 2020. |
| May 20th | Section 232 – U.S. removed Canada and Mexico from the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. Canada and Mexico responded on the same day by removing retaliatory tariffs against the United States. |
| May 17th | Section 232 – Presidential Proclamation was issued directing the USTR to pursue negotiations with the EU, Japan and other countries to address the threatened impairment of the national security with respect to imported automobiles and certain automobile parts. The USTR is required to update the Administration on the progress of such negotiations within 180 days. |
| May 10th | Section 301 – This was the announced effective date for the increase in tariffs on the List 3 goods from China under Section 301 from 10% to 25% –see above as the deadline was extended until June 15th. |
| May 13th | Section 301 – USTR published a list of Chinese-origin goods valued at approximately $300 billion that would be subject to 25% tariffs under Section 301, affecting over 3,800 tariff line items. |
| May 5th | Section 301 – President Trump announced that he would “shortly” impose 25% tariffs on all other Chinese imports into the United States. |
| April 18th | Section 301 – USTR granted exclusions for the List 1 goods. (Note that two prior sets of exclusion requests were granted in December 2018.) These requests reflect 21 separate product descriptions and cover 348 requests. The exclusions are retroactive to July 6, 2018 and will remain in effect until July 9, 2020. |
If you have any questions pertaining to the Section 232 or 301 tariffs or other international trade issues, please contact Melissa Proctor (melissa@millerproctorlaw.com) at Miller Proctor Law PLLC (https:www.millerproctorlaw.com).
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