On September 17, 2018, the Trump Administration finalized tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports and announced the final list (List 3) of tariff line items. The additional tariffs became effective on List 3 products on September 24, 2018 in the amount of a 10 percent ad valorem duty. The level of additional tariffs is set to increase to 25 percent on January 1, 2019. The final list includes 5,745 tariff line items of the 6,031 tariff line items initially proposed. Products that were removed from the final list include certain consumer electronics products, such as smart watches, fitness trackers, and health and safety products like bicycle helmets and child safety furniture. In a statement announcing the imposition of tariffs on List 3, President Trump stated that “{i}f China takes retaliatory action against our farmers or other industries, we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports.”
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) also announced a new product-specific exclusion process for List 2 items, upon which a 25 percent ad valorem duty has been imposed since August 23, 2018. The deadline to apply for an exclusion for products on List 2 is December 18, 2018. Products on List 1 have been subject to a 25 percent ad valorem duty since July 6, 2018. The deadline to apply for an exclusion for products on List 1 is October 9, 2018. The USTR has not announced an exclusion process for List 3 and has indicated there are no immediate plans to implement such a process. Fox Rothschild continues to monitor these developments. Should you have any questions about filing a product-specific exclusion request, please contact Brittney Powell or Lizbeth Levinson.