By: Arthur Bodek

On September 13, 2024, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced several actions based on consideration of public comments in response to its notice of May 28, 2024 relating to the China 301 “Four-Year Review” (further background can be accessed here).

The specific actions announced are as follows:

1. Impose additional, or increase existing, China 301 duties on certain products in strategic sectors.
2. Propose increasing tariff rates for certain tungsten products, wafers, and polysilicon (with a public comment process to be announced in a separate notice).
3. Provide a list of subheadings for certain machinery used in domestic manufacturing eligible for consideration under an exclusion process.
4. Exclude from China 301 duties certain solar manufacturing equipment.

Further detail on each action is set forth below.

1. New / Increased China 301 Tariffs

New and / or increased tariffs will apply to 382 subheadings and 7 statistical reporting numbers in the following product categories:

• Battery Parts (Non-lithium-ion Batteries).
• Electric Vehicles.
• Facemasks.
• Lithium-ion Electrical Vehicle Batteries.
• Lithium-ion Non-electrical Vehicle Batteries.
• Medical Gloves.
• Natural Graphite.
• Other Critical Minerals.
• Permanent Magnets.
• Semiconductors.
• Ship-to-Shore Cranes.
• Solar Cells (whether or not assembled into modules).
• Steel and Aluminum Products.
• Syringes and Needles.

Annex A of the USTR notice (beginning on page 37) sets forth each tariff designation, product description, rate and year of effect. Depending upon the item, the increase will take effect on September 27, 2024 (for those items designated as “2024”) or January 1^st of 2025 or 2026.  Effective dates will be applied on an “entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption” basis.

2. Propose increasing tariff rates for certain tungsten products, wafers, and polysilicon

Separate from the above, the USTR announced that it will publish a separate notice with procedures for interested parties to provide views on increasing tariffs on the following subheadings:

• • • 2804.61.00 (Silicon containing by weight not less than 99.99 percent of silicon).
    • 3818.00.00 (Chemical elements doped for use in electronics, in the form of discs, wafers etc., chemical compounds doped for electronic use).
    • 8101.94.00 (Tungsten, unwrought (including bars and rods obtained simply by sintering)).
    • 8101.99.10 (Tungsten bars and rods (o/than those obtained simply by sintering), profiles, plates, sheets, strip and foil); and
    • 8101.99.80 (Tungsten, articles nesoi).

   

3. Provide a list of subheadings for certain machinery used in domestic manufacturing eligible for consideration under an exclusion process

In its May 28, 2024 notice, the USTR announced that it would establish an exclusion process by which interested persons may request that certain machinery of Chapters 84 and 85, HTSUS,  used in domestic manufacturing, be temporarily excluded from the China 301 tariffs. Annex E of the September 13^th notice (beginning on page 92) identifies the items for which such exclusions may be requested.  As per the May 28^th notice, procedures for requesting exclusions under this process will be published in a separate notice.

4. Exclude certain solar manufacturing equipment from China 301 duties

The USTR has adopted 14 temporary exclusions for solar manufacturing equipment.  Each item is identified in Annex B of the USTR notice (beginning on page 63). These exclusions are retroactive and apply to listed items entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 2024, and through May 31, 2025. No instructions are provided as to the procedure for making retroactive claims other than noting that questions on implementation of the product exclusions should be directed to CBP (which we expect will issue instructions).

Please do not hesitate to contact any of our attorneys to discuss the impact of the above developments on your business.