Section 301: New Deal with China & More Product Exclusions

Product exclusions and plans for a new trade deal help tamp down the effects of Section 301 tariffs placed on China.

The leaders of the US and China are set to sign Phase One Trade Deal on January 15, 2020. Under the deal, goods on List 4a of Section 301 will decrease from 15 to 7.5 percent—and promise of the deal annulled the December 15^th planned tariffs on List 4b. An effective date for the List 4a decrease has not been announced.

Additionally, the US Trade Representative (USTR) continues to publish Section 301 exclusions, as recently as December 31, 2019. The effective dates for the exclusions are retroactive to the date of each action.

Exclusion request procedures, requests granted, amendments, and Customs guidance can be found under each Section 301 list on USTR’s website.

• List 1 ($34 billion trade action):
  • Exclusions published on nine dates between December 28, 2018, and December 17, 2019.
  • Retroactive to July 6, 2018.
  • Effective for one year from publication of each exclusion notice. Certain exclusions have expired, but some have been extended.
• List 2 ($16 billion trade action):
  • Exclusions published on July 31, September 20, and October 2, 2019.
  • Retroactive to August 23, 2018.
  • Effective for one year from publication of each exclusion notice.
• List 3 ($200 billion trade action):
  • Seven lists of exclusions published between August 7, 2019, and December 31, 2019.
  • Retroactive to September 24, 2018.
  • Effective through August 7, 2020.
• List 4 ($300 billion trade action):
  • The USTR portal for submitting requests for product exclusions from List A opened on October 31, 2019, and will remain open until January 31, 2020.

For specific commodity or exclusion guidance, please contact Deringer’s Compliance Department.