USTR

July 6, 2022, will mark the four-year anniversary of the institution of Section 301 tariffs against approximately $370 Billion in imports from China into the United States.  In light of this anniversary, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) is commencing the first phase of its Four-Year Review Process, which will allow representatives of domestic industries which benefit from the trade actions to submit comments on whether or not the Section 301 tariffs should continue.  In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2022 (unpublished version available here), USTR is requesting interested parties to address whether the imposition of the tariffs has been beneficial.  Comments from domestic interested parties must be submitted in a 60-day window prior to the four-year anniversary.  The first round of comments will be accepted between May 7, 2022, and July 5, 2022, for the List 1 tariffs which are set to expire on July 6, 2022.  Comments related to the List 2 tariffs will be accepted between June 24, 2022, and August 22, 2022, as those tariffs are set to expire on August 23, 2022.

On March 23, 2022 the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) reinstated 352 Section 301 China tariff exclusions that had expired December 31, 2020.  The list of reinstated exclusions can be found here: Reinstatement of Certain Exclusions Previously Extended | United States Trade Representative (ustr.gov) The 352 reinstated tariff exclusions are retroactive to October 12, 2021 and extend forward through December 31, 2022.

In Husch Blackwell’s December 2021 Trade Law Newsletter, you’ll learn about the following updates in international trade and supply chain law:

  • President Biden issued a Proclamation to update the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and re-affirmed the changes to the section 232 tariffs that took effect Jan. 1
  • An update on U.S. Department of Commerce decisions

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The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced in a notice that 81 COVID specific product exclusions would be extended for an additional 6 months, with all COVID exclusions receiving an additional 16-day transition period. The exclusions on the 81 products was set to expire on November 14, 2021, but will now be pushed back until May 31, 2022, allowing these medical – care products to remain free from additional duties upon importation. The announcement comes after USTR requested public comments on August 27, 2021 on whether the exclusions should be further extended.

On October 31, 2021, the Secretary of Commerce and United States Trade Representative released a statement confirming that the United States and the European Union (EU) have come to an agreement (Agreement) that will modify the current section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that the Department of the Treasury has reached an agreement with Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom regarding the treatment of Digital Services Taxes (“DSTs”). The Department of Treasury reached the agreement in conjunction with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) global agreement. In coordination with the Department of Treasury, USTR plans to work together with these governments to ensure implementation of the agreement and rollback of existing DSTs.

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.

Earlier this month, the US Government updated its ongoing response to what the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) described as “Beijing’s campaign of repression, mass detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions of China (“XUAR”), where the [People’s Republic of China] continues to…

The United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) Katherine Tai announced 25% additional tariffs on approximately $2 billion worth of imported goods from Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom (“UK”), which have adopted Digital Service Taxes (“DSTs”).  However, USTR also immediately suspended the tariffs for 180 days to provide additional time for ongoing multilateral…

In Husch Blackwell’s March 2021 Trade Law Newsletter, you’ll learn about the following updates in international trade and supply chain law:

  • USTR announced the continuation of certain Section 301 digital services taxes investigations
  • The U.S. temporarily suspended tariffs on UK and EU goods in the large civil aircraft dispute
  • USTR suspended trade engagement with

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