The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a Federal Register notice granted a limited number of extensions for imported Chinese products appearing on List 2 (goods valued $16 million) previously excluded from the Section 301 tariff.  These extensions include certain medical supplies and products necessary to continue to combat the COVID-19 virus.  In July 2019, the USTR granted 69 specially-prepared exclusion requests with an expiration date of July 31, 2020. See Trump and Trade Update of July 29, 2019.  In April 2020, interested parties were invited to comment on whether to extend by up to 12 months any of these exclusions that had been granted.  See Trump and Trade Update of April 29, 2020.

For the July 2019 exclusions, USTR granted only 14 extensions. The product descriptions are: certain polytetrafluoroethylene; certain polyethylene film; certain rectangular polyethylene sheets; certain gasoline or liquid propane engines; certain dispensers of hand-cleaning or hand-sanitizing solutions; certain walk behind rotary tillers; certain AC motors; certain position or speed sensors for motor vehicle transmission and braking systems; certain apparatus using passive infrared detection for lighting systems; certain programmable robots; certain motorcycles and mopeds; and certain digital thermometers. All other product exclusions granted in July 2019 will expire as of July 31, 2020.

These product exclusion extensions will apply as of July 31, 2020, and extend through December 31, 2020.  Each exclusion continues to be governed by the scope of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading and the product description appearing in the annex of the exclusion extension notice; it is not governed by the product description set out in any particular exclusion request. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will soon issue instructions on entry guidance and implementation.