On June 15, 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a list of products imported from China that will be subject to additional tariffs as part of the U.S. response to China’s unfair trade practices related to the forced transfer of American technology and intellectual property.
The U.S. will impose an additional duty of 25% on approximately $34 billion worth of country of origin China imports containing industrially significant technologies, including those related to China’s “Made in China 2025” industrial policy. The duty will be imposed beginning July 6, 2018. There are 818 eight-digit Harmonized Tariff System numbers in the list. The original proposed list in April had 1,333 lines, but 515 items were removed.
The USTR will soon provide an opportunity for the public to request the exclusion of particular products from the additional duties subject to this action. A notice in the Federal Register with details regarding this process is forthcoming within the next few weeks.
The USTR also released a second proposed list identified by the interagency Section 301 Committee as benefiting from Chinese industrial policies, including the “Made in China 2025” industrial policy. These 284 eight-digit Harmonized Tariff System numbers, which cover approximately $16 billion worth of imports from China, will undergo further review in a public notice and comment process, including a public hearing. After completion of this process, USTR will issue a final determination on the products from this list that would be subject to the additional duties.
Additional information is provided by the USTR as follows: