USTR Issues Determination of Reinstatement of Certain Exclusions from China Section 301 Tariffs on March 23, 2022

In our previous  Trade Update (39th Edition), we reported that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was considering the possible reinstatement of previously extended product exclusions from China Section 301 Tariffs. Specifically, USTR invited comments from the public on whether to reinstate the 549 previously granted and extended exclusions. We enclosed an index of the 549 exclusions in our previous trade alert. Most of these extended exclusions expired by December 31, 2020, and the remaining exclusions expired by 2021.

On March 23, 2022, USTR made an official announcement of its determination to reinstate 352 of the 549 eligible exclusions after its careful consideration of the public comments and in consultation with other government agencies.

The reinstated exclusions are set out in the Federal Register notice (the "Notice"), which was published on March 28, 2022. A copy of the Notice can be viewed here.

The reinstated product exclusions announced in the Notice include 89 exclusions covered under List 1, 34 exclusions covered under List 2, 187 exclusions covered under List 3, and 42 exclusions covered under List 4A. These reinstated exclusions are available for any product that meets the descriptions in the Notice, regardless of whether an exclusion request was filed with USTR or not. In particular, the scope of each reinstated exclusion is governed by the scope of the 10-digit HTS Code and product descriptions outlined in the Annex to this Notice.

As explained in the Notice, these 352 reinstated exclusions are retroactive to October 12, 2021 (the date when USTR began the public comment process) and are valid through December 31, 2022. USTR "may consider further extensions as appropriate," but it has not opened public comments process regarding such further extensions.

As always, if you have any questions regarding the Section 301 exclusion process, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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