Clothing, Bags, Foods, Auto Parts Among New List 3 Tariff Exclusions

Clothing, bags, foods, auto parts and more are among the latest exclusions from the Section 301 additional 25 percent tariff on List 3 goods from mainland China announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. These exclusions cover goods such as seafood, vegetable seeds, chemicals, rubber hoses and tyres, backpacks, bags, tool pouches, gun cases, leather skirts and dresses, corrugated boxes, plates and bowls, yarn and fabrics, marble bathtubs and sinks, stone articles, articles of safety glass, steel and aluminium goods, automobile and engine parts, bandsaws, webbing straps, electric motors, printed circuit boards, vehicle wheels, bicycles, steel racks and shelving units, wood cabinets, laundry organisers and lamps. A copy of the relevant USTR notice is available here .

The exclusions are reflected in one 10-digit HTSUS subheading (7002.10.2000 – unworked glass in balls, rods or tubes) and 176 specially prepared product descriptions covering 202 separate exclusion requests. However, USTR notes that the scope of each exclusion is governed by the product description in its notice and not the descriptions found in any particular request.

These exclusions, which must be claimed using new HTSUS subheading 9903.88.43, will be retroactive to 24 September 2018 and remain in place until 7 August 2020. The exclusions are available for any product that meets the specified product description, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request.