The U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) is indefinitely suspending the Section 301 tariffs on certain handbags and cosmetics from France resulting from the investigation into France’s Digital Services Tax (“DST”). These additional tariffs were announced by USTR in July 2020 and were scheduled to go into effect on January 6, 2021. USTR is suspending the tariffs
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that it is extending certain product-specific exclusions related to the treatment of COVID-19 from the Section 301 tariffs on imports from China until March 31, 2021. On March 25, 2020, the USTR announced that it was seeking comments on the possible exemption of medical goods
On October 2, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a statement announcing the initiation of new investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether Vietnam has been undervaluing its currency and to investigate Vietnam’s policies and practices as related to importing illegally harvested timber subsequently
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced on September 30, 2020 that it was extending the duty exemptions for only 9 of the 96 products on List 1 and only 28 out of the 113 products on List 2 of the Section 301 tariffs that were scheduled to expire on October 2, 2020.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement body ruled that the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imports from China are inconsistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and recommended that the U.S. “bring its measures into conformity” with its obligations under the GATT. Beginning in 2018, at the direction of President Trump, the U.S. imposed tariffs on $400 billion worth of imports from China over 4 different lists or tranches. The U.S. and China negotiated a “phase one” trade deal earlier this year, however, most of the tariffs were still left in place.
The WTO panel concluded that the U.S. failed to demonstrate that the tariff measures are justified under Article XX(a) of the GATT 1994. As a result, the panel found the U.S. tariff measures to be inconsistent with Articles I:1, II:1(a) and II:1(b) of GATT 1994. In other words, the WTO found that the U.S. tariffs on China were discriminatory and excessive, and the U.S. failed to present justification for an exemption that could have legally allowed for the tariffs.
On September 10, 2020, HMTX Industries LLC, along with Halstead New England Corporation, and Metroflor Corporation (importers of vinyl tile) filed a complaint (Ct. No. 20-00177) at the Court of International Trade (CIT) challenging both the substantive and procedural processes followed by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) when instituting Section 301 Tariffs on imports
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) is preparing a regulatory change that would eliminate the $800 de minimis exemption for imports subject to Section 301 tariffs, according to a proposed rule submitted by CBP to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) on September 2, 2020. Reviews of the proposed rule by OMB and an interagency review are the final steps before the publication of a final rule in the Federal Register.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) issued extensions for previously granted product exclusions under List 4 of the Section 301 tariffs on imports from China. USTR is extending the duty exemptions for only 87 of the approximately 248 product exclusions published to date under List 4, allowing for more than 150 to expire on September 1, 2020. The products for which exclusions have not been extended will be subject to the 7.5% tariff beginning on September 2, 2020.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) issued two (2) new product exclusions pertaining to the Section 301 List 3 tariffs. The current tariff is 25%. The new exclusions include 2 specific product descriptions that together cover 2 separate exclusion requests. According to the USTR, the product exclusions apply retroactively from September 24, 2018
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued an updated list of goods from the European Union (EU) subject to Section 301 tariffs as part of the Large Civil Aircraft dispute. In October 2019, the World Trade Organization ruled in favor of the U.S. and Boeing in the dispute against the EU and Airbus,