xizhimen
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Lower trade costs on the horizon? U.S. importers invited to discuss reinstating tariff exclusions for Chinese products
NOVEMBER 8, 2021The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published its “Request for Comments on the Possible Reinstatement of Certain Exclusions in the Section 301 Investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation” on Oct. 12, 2021. USTR is requesting comments on whether to reinstate previously granted Section 301 tariffs exclusions for certain products from China. If reinstated, U.S. companies who import such goods will realize lower trade costs and, in turn, pass that savings along to consumers and businesses.
If exclusions are reinstated, future imports of eligible products will be exempted from Section 301 tariffs and such exclusions should be retroactive from the previous expiration date. This means importers who already paid Section 301 tariffs could seek a refund on eligible products not liquidated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the time the importer submits the claim for refund. Also, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen shared recently, the lowering of tariffs has a disinflationary effect and would help the U.S. to cope with inflation, because tariffs tend to boost domestic prices and raise costs to consumers and businesses.
At this time, comments on possible reinstatement are limited to the 549 products that previously received both an initial product exclusion and an exclusion extension. With the exception of the Section 301 tariff exclusions related to COVID-19, for which the extension was addressed separately, all of the other exclusions granted have expired. USTR is now requesting the public to file comments as to whether it should reinstate previously-granted Section 301 tariff exclusions for the 549 products from China, as well as the appropriate length of the reinstated exclusions.
