| List 1 | List 2 | List 3 | List 4A | List 4B |
Effective Date | 6 July 2018 | 23 August 2018 | 24 September 2018 | 1 September 2019 | 15 December 2019 |
No of Tariff Lines | 818 | 279 | 5,733 | 3,233 | 550 |
Total Value of Products | US$34 billion | US$16 billion | US$200 billion | US$300 billion |
Additional Tariff | 25% (15 October 2019: 30% - Suspended) | 15% (cut to 7.5% starting from 14 February 2020) | 15% (Cancelled) |
List 1
The US on 6 July 2018 began collecting additional tariffs of 25% on US$34 billion worth of imports from Mainland China spanning 818 tariff lines (List 1). A large percentage of these goods are from Harmonized System (HS) Chapters 84, 85, 87, 88 and 90 – such as engines and motors; construction, drilling and agricultural machinery; machines for working minerals, glass, rubber or plastic; rail locomotives and rolling stock; motor vehicles and motorcycles; helicopters and aircraft; and testing, measuring and diagnostic instruments and devices.
For further information, please check List 1
As of 3 October 2019, eight sets of List 1 goods have been exempted. The latest exemptions from the additional tariffs include 92 specially prepared product descriptions, covering water-filtering apparatus, machines for slitting metal, woodworking planes, extrusion machines for processing rubber, safely valves, DC electric motors, digital optical fiber cables and more. These product exclusions are retroactive to 6 July 2018 and remain in place till 1 October 2020. Click here for more details.
List 2
Additional tariffs of 25% have been charged on a second list of goods since 23 August 2018. The second list comprises 279 tariff lines with a total import value of about US$16 billion. Many of these products are classified in HS Chapters 39, 84 and 85, but various products in Chapters 27, 34, 38, 70, 73, 76, 86, 87, 89 and 90 are also included. Affected goods include plastics and plastic products; industrial machinery; machinery for working stone, ceramics, concrete, wood, hard rubber, plastic and glass; cargo containers; tractors; and optical fibers. For further information, please check List 2.
As of 15 October 2019, three sets of List 2 goods have been exempted. The latest exemptions include 111 specially prepared product descriptions, covering self-adhesive tape, fence panels of galvanized steel, steel chain-link fence panels, humidity triggered switches, certain buffering/cushioning units, thermometers, multimeters without a recording device, GPS wireless diagnostic tools and more. These product exclusions are retroactive to 23 August 2018 and remain in place till 1 October 2020. Click here for more details.
List 3
Tariffs of 10% have been applied on a third list of goods since 24 September 2018. The third list comprises 5,733 tariff lines with an import value of about US$200 billion. Affected products include, among others, various travel goods of HS code heading 4202; leather products of heading 4203; plastic products of Chapter 39; tires of heading 4011; textile products of Chapters 50 through 60; headwear of Chapter 65; furniture of heading 9403; lamps of heading 9405; certain printed-circuit assemblies classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the US (HTSUS) 8473.30.11; and machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data, including switching and routing apparatus, classified under HTSUS 8517.62.00. However, the list does not include any apparel products (Chapters 61 and 62), footwear products (Chapter 64), or toys and games (Chapter 95). For further information, please check List 3.
The USTR has since issued an official notice increasing the additional tariff on List 3 products from 10% to 25%, with effect from 10 May 2019. The affected products, however, are not subject to the tariff increase as long as they entered the US prior to 15 June 2019 (extended from 1 June 2019). Such products remain subject to the additional duty of 10% for this interim period.
As of 19 June 2020, a total of 14 batches of “List 3” products have been exempted from additional tariffs. The latest batch of exempted products includes 17 existing 10-digit numbered sub-items of the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule 0713.33.1040, 0713.50.1000, 1207.70.0020, 1207.70.0040, 1209.30.0090, 1209.91.6010, 1209.91.8010, 1209.91.8020, 1209.91.8040, 1209.91.8050, 1209.91.8060, 1209.91.8070, 2916.19.1000, 5603.14.9090, 5603.92.0090, 5603.93.0090 and 9403.70.4002. They include certain dried leguminous vegetable seeds for sowing (kidney beans, broad beans and horse beans); seeds of herbaceous plants other than petunia; certain vegetable seeds (cantaloupe, watermelons, bell peppers, carrots, radish, cucumbers, lettuce, squash, and tomatoes); potassium sorbate; certain impregnated, coated or covered non-woven fabrics (man-made filaments which are not "imitation suede” and weigh more than 150g/m2 and other textile materials than man-made filaments which are not "imitation suede” and weigh between 25g and 150g/m2) as well as toddler beds, bassinets and cradles of reinforced or laminated plastics.
In addition, the exclusions also cover 61 specially prepared product descriptions, covering freeze-dried or frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp; dried green seaweed; certain chemicals; children's paint sets, organic surface-active liquid for washing the skin; artificial graphite in powder or flake form; handbags, garment travel bags; flooring planks; albums for samples or collections; equipment for scaffolding; drums and barrels of stainless steel; wind turbine hubs; portal cranes; battery holders for bicycle signaling apparatus; unassembled non-upholstered chairs with metal frames; certain floor-standing jewellery armoires; etc.
These product exclusions are retroactive to 24 September 2018 and remain in place until 7 August 2020. Click here for more details.
List 4
US President Donald Trump on 1 August 2019 announced the imposition of tariffs on all the US$300 billion worth of imports from Mainland China previously excluded from Section 301 tariffs (List 4), effective from 1 September 2019. The new levy covers all apparel, footwear, toys, jewelry, watches and clocks among others, but excluded pharmaceuticals, certain pharmaceutical inputs, select medical goods, rare earth materials, and critical minerals.
On 13 August 2019, the USTR announced details on the imposition of an additional tariff of 10% on these List 4 Mainland Chinese imports. Based on health, safety, national security and other factors such as comments and petitions received during public hearings and reviews, a total of 25 tariff lines were removed from the proposed List 4 announced on 13 May 2019. The final List 4 (comprising List 4A and List 4B) now includes 3,787 tariff lines.
List 4A items (3,232) are subject to the additional tariff from 1 September 2019, while corresponding levies on the rest or List 4B items (555) -- including mobile phones, laptop computers, video-game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing -- are delayed to 15 December 2019.
The USTR announced details on applications for exclusion from list 4A products under Section 301. The USTR will accept exclusion submissions from 31 October 2019 to 31 January 2020. Exclusions will be effective from 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020. Please check here for details.
As of 5 August 2020, eight batches of “List 4A” products had been exempted from additional tariffs. The latest batch of exempted products includes one existing sub-item 8443.32.1050 of the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule - thermal transfer printer - and nine items of specifically described products - doorway dust barrier kits; plastics heads, plates, grip disks, slide clamps, foot plugs and other parts for temporary dust barrier systems; plastics locking zip tie fasteners; certain decorative glassware; digital optical image scanners; slingshot apparatus for outdoor games; swing sets and parts and accessories thereof; and trap shooting launchers and parts and accessories thereof.
These product exclusions are retroactive to 1 September 2019 and remain in place until 1 September 2020. Click here for more details.
Latest Development
In response to Mainland China’s 23 August 2019 announcement of additional tariffs on US-origin goods worth US$75 billion, US President Donald Trump on the same day announced that existing 25% tariffs on US$250 billion of mainland-origin goods would be increased to 30% from 1 October 2019 and the 10% tariffs scheduled to go into effect for List 4A items on 1 September 2019 and List 4B goods on 15 December 2019 would be increased to 15%.
Mr Trump on 11 September 2019 announced that he had agreed to postpone an increase in tariffs (from 25% to 30%) on US$250 billion worth of mainland-sourced goods from 1 October 2019 to 15 October 2019 as a good-will gesture. However, on 11 October he said the US would suspend the tariff increase as the two sides had reached an initial deal, with the mainland pledging to buy American farm products worth US$40-50 billion.
Mr Trump signed the first phase of trade deal with the Mainland’s Vice Premier Liu He on 15 January 2020 in Washington. The mainland has committed to buy an additional US$200 billion of American manufacturing, agricultural and energy goods and services by 2021. These cover a wide range of manufactured goods such as industrial machinery, electrical equipment and machinery, pharmaceutical products, aircraft, vehicles, optical and medical instruments, iron and steel, as well as agriculture and hydrocarbon products including oilseeds, meat, cereals, cotton and seafood, liquefied natural gas, crude oil, refined products and coal. The deal also covers services such as intellectual property (IP), business travel and tourism, financial services and insurance, cloud and related services.
| 2020 (US$b) | 2021 (US$) | Sub-total (US$b) |
Manufactured Goods (industrial machinery, electrical equipment and machinery, pharmaceutical products, aircraft, vehicles, optical and medical instruments, iron and steel etc) | 32.9 | 44.8 | 77.7 |
Agriculture (oilseeds, meat, cereals, cotton and seafood etc) | 12.5 | 19.5 | 32.0 |
Energy (liquefied natural gas, crude oil, refined products, coal etc) | 18.5 | 33.9 | 52.4 |
Services (charges for use of IP, business travel and tourism, financial services and insurance, cloud and related services etc) | 12.8 | 25.1 | 37.9 |
Total | 76.7 | 123.3 | 200 |
The US cancelled a new tranche of import duties on mainland goods (List 4B) and agreed to halve the 15% tariffs on List 4A products starting from 14 February. However, the US will maintain the 25% additional duties on mainland goods on Lists 1, 2 and 3. Full text of the agreement.