The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced the first list of products on China List 3 that will be excluded from the additional tariffs imposed under Section 301. The U.S. first imposed an additional 10% duty on the $200 billion worth of goods from China on September 24, 2018, and increased the duty to 25% on May 10, 2019.
The exclusions cover 10 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 15 separate exclusion requests. The exclusions will be retroactive to September 24, 2018 and will remain in place for one year after publication in the Federal Register, which will be until approximately August 6, 2020. The Federal Register Notice has not yet been published, but you can click here to view the USTR’s notice.
Importers should review the list of affected goods and apply for refunds on any tariffs paid since September 24, 2018. As with the other exclusions granted so far, any importer that has a product which meets the specified product description is able to claim an exemption, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. The scope of each exclusion is governed by the scope of the product descriptions set forth in the Federal Register Notice, not by the product description in any particular request for exclusion.
Section 301 product exclusions for List 3 goods must be be claimed using the new HTSUS subheading 9903.88.13. CBP will issue instructions to claim the product exclusions. At that time, filers may submit post-summary corrections or protests to obtain their refunds.
The USTR will continue to issue decisions on pending requests on a periodic basis.
| HTS Code | Applies To | Product |
| 3923.10.9000 | Product Specific | Container units of plastics, each comprising a tub and lid therefore, configured or fitted for the conveyance, packing, or dispensing of wet wipes |
| 3923.50.0000 | Product Specific | Injection molded polypropylene plastic caps or lids each weighing not over 24 grams designed for dispensing wet wipes |
| 3926.90.3000 | Product Specific | Kayak paddles, double ended, with shafts of aluminum and blades of fiberglass reinforced nylon |
| 5402.20.3010 | Product Specific | High tenacity polyester yarn not over 600 decitex |
| 5603.92.0090 | Product Specific | Nonwovens weighing more than 25 g/m2 but not more than 70 g/m2 in rolls, not impregnated coated or covered |
| 7323.99.9080 | Product Specific | Pet cages of steel |
| 8716.80.5090 | Product Specific | Carts, not mechanically propelled, each with three or four wheels, of the kind used for household shopping |
| 8716.90.5060 | Product Specific | Truck trailer skirt brackets, other than parts of general use of Section XV |
| 8903.10.0060 | Product Specific | Inflatable boats, other than kayaks and canoes, with over 20 gauge polyvinyl chloride (PVC), each valued at $500 or less and weighing not over 52 kg |
| 8903.10.0060 | Product Specific | Inflatable kayaks and canoes, with over 20 gauge polyvinyl chloride (PVC), each valued at $500 or less and weighing not over 22 kg |
Exclusion Requests
The USTR will continue to accept exclusion requests for List 3 goods until September 30, 2019.
Requestors are asked to provide the quantity and value of the Chinese-origin products that the requestor purchased in the last three years. Requestors should address the following factors:
- Whether the particular product is available only from China and specifically whether the particular product and/or a comparable product is available from sources in the United States and/or third countries
- Whether the imposition of additional duties on the particular product would cause severe economic harm to the requestor or other U.S. interests
- Whether the particular product is strategically important or related to “Made in China 2025” or other Chinese industrial programs
The USTR strongly prefers an electronic submission for all exclusion requests. Requestors can submit their requests through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments in sections E and F of the July 17th notice. The docket number – USTR-2018-0026 – has not changed. If you have already provided written comments and wish to provide further comments, please do so by filing a supplemental comment.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the exclusion process or if you need assistance applying for a refund, please send an email to Compliance@oceanair.net and a member of OCEANAIR’s Compliance team will be happy to assist you.
OCEANAIR will continue to monitor and provide status updates on our Section 301 China Tariff Updates page as they become available. This page also includes a complete list of all product exclusions granted by the USTR to date.
