By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will exclude certain items from the 25% tariffs imposed last July 6 on $34 billion worth of products from China. The products cover 818 Harmonized Tariff Code listings, including miscellaneous metal and rubber parts for auto equipment, machinery, tools, measurement and medical devices.
The USTR granted 984 individual exclusion requests involving 21 separate HTS codes. The exclusions apply to any products in the follow HTC code listings:
- 8412.21.0075, covering certain hydraulic power engines.
- 8418.69.0120, covering certain drinking-water coolers.
- 8480.71.8045, covering certain injection molds.
- 8482.10.5044, covering certain single-row, radial ball bearings having an outside diameter of 9 mm but not over 30 mm.
- 8482.10.5048, covering certain single-row, radial ball bearings having an outside diameter over 30 mm but not over 52 mm.
- 8482.10.5052, covering certain ball bearings having an outside diameter over 52 mm but not over 100 mm.
- 8525.60.1010, covering certain CB radio transceivers.
The USTR also granted exclusions to 24 separate product descriptions ranging from plastic salad spinners to stainless steel rollers. All of the exclusions are retroactive to July 6, 2018, and last until December 28, 2019.
To be eligible for an exclusion, companies had to demonstrate that the product is available only from China, that the duties will cause severe economic harm, and that the good is strategically important. The exclusions cover all imports under the HTC listing number, not just the request filed by an individual importer. The USTR will now consider exclusion requests for 25% tariffs imposed August 23 for products from China valued at $16 billion. The products covered 279 Harmonized Tariff Code listings, including many types of plastics.
On September 24, the Trump Administration also imposed 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of products from China. No exclusion requests are permitted for these products. The deadline for filing exclusion requests for the first two lists covering $34 billion and $16 billion worth of products has expired.
For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.