Tag: Trump Tariffs

USTR Conducts 4-Year Review of China Tariffs (Section 301)

The USTR is conducting a 4 year review of the Section 301 action which added additional duties to goods originating from China, and they want to hear your comments if you want the tariffs continued (if you don’t want them continued, they will be a comment opportunity in the future). The following appeared in the Federal Register, detailing what is happening and what they are looking for in comments:

The first step in the four-year review process is notifying representatives of domestic industries which benefit from the trade actions, as modified, of the possible termination of the actions, and of the opportunity for these representatives to request continuation of the actions. Requests for continuation must be received in the 60-day window prior to the four-year anniversary of the respective action: Between May 7, 2022, and July 5, 2022, for the July 6, 2018 action, and between June 24, 2022, and August 22, 2022, for the August 23, 2018, action. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is opening dockets in these two time windows for representatives of domestic industries which benefit from the trade actions to request continuation of the corresponding trade actions, as
modified. If the actions continue as a result of one or more requests from representatives of domestic industries which benefit from the trade actions, USTR will proceed with the next phase of the review. The second phase of the review will be announced in one or more subsequent notices, and will provide opportunities for public comments from all interested parties.

The full release, including details and submission guidelines, is available from the Federal Register notice.

Want to discuss filing Section 301 comments?

If you want to discuss a Section 301 tariffs and commenting on their benefit or harm? Give us a call at 734-855-4999 or use the contact forms.

Renewed China Tariff/Section 301 Exclusions March 2022

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced reinstated product exclusions that are valid for entries liquidated from October 12, 2021 and will continue to be excluded through December 31, 2022.

The reinstated exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the product exclusion set out in the digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings and product descriptions in the Annex to the Federal Register notice, set to be published on March 28, 2022, but available at this link (see pages 3 through 26).

I expect that the USTR will make new opportunities for new exclusions requests to be filed in the lead-up to the November midterm elections.

We File Protests for Section 301 Duty Refunds

If you need to file protests to get refunds of Section 301 duties, Great Lakes Customs Law can help. We’ve filed protests thousands of entries over the years, and have been successful in getting our clients refunds for Section 301 duties through protest exclusions. We are happy to discuss your needs, the level of organization required to successfully obtain refunds, and provide some transparent pricing for our services. Please contact us to speak to Jason Wapiennik, customs attorney.

Section 301 Exclusion Extensions. Maybe?

The USTR is considering re-opening product exclusions for the 549 exclusions, which mostly expired by December 31, 2020. Comments are due by December 1, 2021.

Details are in the Federal Register notice. This is different from re-opening exclusion requests entirely, but there is some overlap. More information is available on the USTR website (Reinstatement of Certain Exclusions Previously Extended), including a form with the required information.

Have questions about Section 301 Exclusion Extensions?

If you have questions about the USTR’s renewed interest in exclusions and exclusion extensions for Section 30 one duties from China, contact Great Lakes Customs Law today!

Section 301 Exclusion Extensions. Maybe?

The USTR is considering re-opening product exclusions for the 549 exclusions, which mostly expired by December 31, 2020. Comments are due by December 1, 2021.

Details are in the Federal Register notice. This is different from re-opening exclusion requests entirely, but there is some overlap. More information is available on the USTR website (Reinstatement of Certain Exclusions Previously Extended), including a form with the required information.

Have questions about Section 301 Exclusion Extensions?

If you have questions about the USTR’s renewed interest in exclusions and exclusion extensions for Section 30 one duties from China, contact Great Lakes Customs Law today!

Section 301 China Tariff Exclusions (October 2021)

The current U.S. Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, is expected to publicly announce a new Section 301 exclusion process that would allow companies to request that certain products be exempt from Section 301 China tariffs. Details will be made available on our website once an official announcement and more details are made available. Here is Ambassador Tai’s presentation where she laid out her thinking on the status of U.S.-China trade:

 

USMCA; United States Mexico Canada Agreement

The re-negotiation (and renaming) of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) is one step closer to completion, and will go forward to be finalized by the governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The newly renamed agreement is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMC Agreement), and the full text of the agreement is now available. The United States Trade Representative’s office has posted a series of fact sheet with key points of the new agreement.

The White House issued its own fact sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures A Modern, Rebalanced Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico

President Trump held a news conference on the topic of the trade agreement. You can watch the conference by following this link on C-Span.