Exclusions For Second And Third China Tariff Tranches Issued

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) over the course of the last week issued its first exclusions for goods in Tranche 2 and its first exclusions for goods in Tranche 3 of Section 301 tariffs on China.

USTR issued exclusions for 10 goods described in various Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings, including plastic containers, polyester yarn and steel pet cages, among other goods, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Aug. 7.

USTR in June expanded the product exclusion process to goods on the $200 billion list, in addition to goods covered by the first two tranches, which comprise $50 billion worth of goods. All of those tariffs are being collected at a rate of 25%.

"The Trade Representative will continue to issue decisions on pending requests on a periodic basis," USTR said in the Aug. 7 notice.

Exclusions pertaining to the $200 billion tranche will apply as of the Sept. 24, 2018, effective date of the $200 billion action and will extend through Aug. 6, 2020, USTR said.

Exclusions pertaining to Tranche 2, which comprises $16 billion worth of goods, will apply as of the Aug. 23, 2018, effective date of that action and will extend through Aug. 6, 2020, according to a USTR notice published in the Federal Register on July 31.

Exclusions pertaining to the $16 billion tranche cover 69 goods described in the HTS, including spark-ignition piston engines, lawn care equipment and various chemicals, among several other goods.

Exclusions apply to imports of all subject goods described in the Federal Register notices, and don't pertain merely to the goods imported by the firm that filed the exclusion request.

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