On October 4, 2021, Ambassador Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative, addressed the state of U.S.- China trade relations and the upcoming plans for the Biden Administration to improve foreign trade policy. Since taking office in January, the Administration has spent time reviewing the trade policies put in place under the Trump Administration. There has been little movement until now as to the stance the Biden Administration would take, which created uncertainty regarding U.S. trade policy with China. Speculation grew as many questioned what would happen with the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports (under Section 301), how the administration would address the shortcomings of the “Phase 1” deal, and whether the product exclusion process would be re-instated.
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China Offers Tariff Exclusion Process on U.S. Goods
On May 13, 2019, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (“MOFCOM”) announced that it will offer a tariff exclusion process for importers in China that face serious economic or social consequences due to higher tariffs on U.S. goods.
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Congress Directs USTR to Implement List 3 Exclusion Process by March 17, 2019
The President signed on Friday, February 15, 2019, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, an appropriations bill to keep the government fully open. In the Joint Explanatory Statement (JES) from the House Appropriations Committee that accompanied the bill, Congress directs the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to create an exclusion process for the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on China “no later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, following the same procedures as those in rounds 1 and 2….” This language does not tie a round 3 exclusion process to the level of the tariff (10% or 25%). Significantly, though, this language in the JES was not included as part of the bill signed by the President and is therefore not legally binding. Nevertheless, the JES expresses Congress’ intent and indicates that Congress expects USTR to begin an exclusion process covering goods on List 3 no later than March 17, 2019.
Continue Reading Congress Directs USTR to Implement List 3 Exclusion Process by March 17, 2019