Published today in the Federal Register is the United States Trade Representative (USTR) notice increasing tariffs on Chinese goods worth $200 billion (also known as “List 3”) from 10 percent to 25 percent effective May 10, 2019.
Unlike past Section 301 notices of this type, this contains an “on water” exception.
The annex to the notice reads the effective date includes goods (i) entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouses for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 10, and (ii) exported to the United States on or after May 10.
Thus, goods that were exported to the United States and were in transit before May 10 are not subject to this action.