On October 21, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced the commencement of the process for submitting tariff exclusion requests for imports from China that became subject to 15 percent tariffs on September 1, 2019, pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (“List 4A tariffs”). The List 4A tariffs affect nearly all remaining product categories that are not already covered by the earlier $34 billion, $16 billion, and $200 billion Section 301 tariff lists (List 1 through List 3, respectively). An additional set of tariffs on products on List 4B is set to go into effect on December 15, 2019, but may be postponed or cancelled, depending on the outcome of negotiations between the United States and China.

According to guidance released on October 18, USTR will accept exclusion requests for products on List 4A from 12:00 p.m. on October 31, 2019, through 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2020. Exclusion requests are to be filed through USTR’s Section 301 exclusion portal, the same location where List 3 exclusion requests were previously filed.

As with List 3, USTR is requesting the following information for List 4A exclusion requests:

• The 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“HTSUS”) subheading for each product

• Product name and detailed description, including physical characteristics, such as dimensions, weight, material composition, and other features; requests may contain more than one product, provided that all products are comparable and fit within the detailed description in the exclusion request and fall under the same HTSUS subheading

• The product’s function, application, principal use, and unique physical features distinguishing it from other products within the same 8-digit HTSUS subheading

• Whether the product is currently subject to antidumping or countervailing duty orders

• Documentation to identify the product (e.g., CBP rulings, photos, specification sheets, and previous import documentation)

• Requester’s relationship to the product (importer, producer, industry association, etc.), annual quantities and values of the requester’s Chinese, U.S., and third-country purchases of the product, gross revenues, and percentage of costs/gross sales

• Information regarding the product’s availability in the United States or in third countries, the requester’s attempts to shift purchases of the product away from China, the economic impact of the tariffs on the requester or on other U.S. interests, and whether the product is related to the “Made in China 2025” industrial program

Separately, USTR has announced that it expects to issue exclusions in response to roughly 150 exclusion requests for products on List 3 during the week of October 28, 2019