The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) is considering a modification to the list of products from the European Union (“EU”) and United Kingdom (“UK”) subject to Section 301 tariffs and an increase of the additional duties up to 100%. The tariffs were initially imposed on October 18, 2019 in response to a World Trade Organization (“WTO”) ruling that the U.S. may levy up to $7.5 billion annually in countermeasures for EU subsidies provided to aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Currently, additional 25% Section 301 tariffs apply to a wide assortment of goods including: apparel, tools, wines, liquors, foodstuffs, etc. and 15% on new aircraft from certain EU countries and the UK.

In connection with its review, the USTR is currently accepting comments regarding the inclusion of products in the three Annex categories below until July 26, 2020. The comments must address whether additional duties would be appropriate to enforce U.S. WTO rights or cause disproportional economic harm to U.S. interests. The Annex categories are organized by product description and applicable country, thus the product lists included in the Federal Register Notice must be carefully reviewed to determine which products and countries may be subject to the additional duties.

• Annex 1: Products currently subject to additional duties.
• Annex 2: Products previously under consideration but not currently subject to additional duties.
• Annex 3: A new list of products considered for additional duties.

We are available to discuss options to respond to and mitigate the effects of these developments, including submission of comments to the USTR, classification reviews, valuation strategies, etc.

Should you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact our office.