The US Trade Representative (USTR) has completed their four-year review of the Sec 301 tariffs related to China. As part of this review, the USTR proposes several modifications. Notably, there will be an increase in the Section 301 tariffs on various Chinese goods including semiconductors, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, critical minerals, and specific medical products. Additionally, the exclusion for bifacial solar panels under Sec 201 will be removed.
Furthermore, the temporary duty-free importation of solar cells and modules from Southeast Asia is set to expire this week on June 6th, 2024. The expiration aligns with the Biden administration’s efforts to address alleged circumvention of anti-dumping and countervailing duties by Southeast Asian producers targeting solar manufacturers from China.
Interestingly, the USTR is also proposing a new exclusion process specifically targeting machinery used in domestic manufacturing. This proposal includes 19 temporary exclusions for certain solar manufacturing equipment aimed at supporting investment in the US solar industry.
If you are importing products made in China, China 301 duties are changing significantly with some HTS impacted as soon as June 14th, 2024.
- The USTR expired many current exclusions effective June 14th, 2024. (89 FR 46948)
- The USTR extended several exclusions through May 31st, 2025. (89 FR 46948)
- The USTR added many HTS numbers to new China 301 duties, many effective Aug 1st, 2024, others on Jan 1st, 2025, or Jan 1st, 2026. (89 FR 46252)
An exclusion process specifically for manufacturing equipment needed for producing in the US has not yet been published by the USTR. (89 FR 46252)
This list can be used as an aid to assist with determining the impact to your imports. Disclaimer: This list should not be construed as legal advice. Referral to the official Federal Register documents is recommended. If you are interested in providing comments on the proposed modifications and the exclusion process, the commentary channel (details under Section C on page 3) is open until June 28th, 2024.
At the same time, USTR is accepting comments through July 30th, 2024 on a separate notice setting forth the information USTR plans to require from those requesting tariff exclusions for goods deemed eligible.
Once these processes are completed, USTR will issue a notice opening a new portal through which companies can request exclusions for eligible goods. There will be an opportunity for objections to submitted requests as well as rebuttals to any objections.
This is a lot to work through and it is possible that no new Section 301 tariff exclusions will be available until late this year. USTR has said exclusions granted through this process will be effective through May 31st, 2025, but has not indicated when they will become effective.