Section 301 Comment Period Opens May 29
Trade Update • May 28, 2024
he United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released a Federal Register Notice to detail their four year review proposed modifications. This notice follows the Section 301 update issued last week, where the USTR announced that President Biden has directed the agency to take specific actions in response to China’s unfair trade practices. These actions result from the USTR’s four-year statutory review.
Proposed Actions
- Increasing Section 301 ad valorem duty rates on certain Chinese products in strategic sectors, as directed by the President.
- Establishing a process for interested parties to request temporary exclusions from Section 301 tariffs for specific machinery used in domestic manufacturing.
- Granting 19 temporary exclusions for certain solar manufacturing equipment.
Comments
Interested parties can comment on several points:
- The effectiveness of the proposed modifications in eliminating or counteracting China’s practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.
- The impact of the proposed modifications on the U.S. economy, including consumers.
- Whether the product descriptions should include ship-to-shore cranes under subheading 8426.19.00 (Transporter cranes, gantry cranes, and bridge cranes).
- If the tariff rates for facemasks, medical gloves, syringes, and needles should be higher than proposed.
- Whether additional statistical reporting codes should be included under tariff subheading 6307.90.98 for facemasks.
- If the identified tariff subheadings adequately cover the products and sectors specified in the President’s directives to the Trade Representative.
- Whether subheadings listed in Annex B should be eligible for the machinery exclusion process and if certain subheadings under Chapters 84 and 85 used in domestic manufacturing should be included.
- The scope of proposed solar manufacturing machinery exclusions in Annex C and any suggested amendments to the product descriptions.
Submissions
The comment period is open from May 29th to June 28th. You must submit written comments using the appropriate docket on the portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/. To submit written comments, use the docket on the portal entitled Request for Comments: Proposed Modifications to the Section 301 Actions and Proposed Exclusion Process, docket number USTR–2024–0007. You do not need to establish an account to submit comments.
The first screen of the docket allows you to enter identification and contact information. Third party organizations such as law firms, trade associations, or customs brokers, should identify the full legal name of the organization they represent, and identify the primary point of contact for the submission. Information fields are optional; however, your comment may not be considered if insufficient information is provided. Fields with a gray Business Confidential Information (BCI) notation are for BCI that will not be made publicly available. Fields with a green (Public) notation will be viewable by the public. After entering the identification and contact information, you can complete the remainder of the comment, or any portion of it by clicking ‘Next.’ You may upload documents at the end of the form and indicate whether USTR should treat the documents as business confidential or public information. Any page containing BCI must be clearly marked ‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’ on the top of that page and the submission should clearly indicate, via brackets, highlighting, or other means, the specific information that is BCI.
Questions or concerns about if your products are affected please contact us.
Subscribe!
