The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has published a Federal Register notice granting a limited number of product exclusion extensions from the Section 301 tariff for four imported Chinese products appearing on the first list/tranche of goods valued at $34 billion. In July 2019, the USTR granted 110 specially-prepared exclusion requests with an expiration date of July 9, 2020. See Trump and Trade Update of July 9, 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 has granted only 12 extensions. The product descriptions are: certain direct acting and spring return pneumatic actuators; certain pump casings and bodies; certain pump covers and parts; certain compressors; structural components for industrial furnaces; certain aluminum electrolytic capacitors; certain rotary switches; zinc anodes for use with machines and apparatus for electroplating, electrolysis or electrophoresis; certain weather station sets; and multi-leaf collimators of radiotherapy systems based on the use of X-ray. All other product exclusions granted in July 2019 will expire as of July 9, 2020.
These product exclusion extensions will apply as of July 9, 2020, and extend through December 31, 2020. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will soon issue instructions on entry guidance and implementation.
Each exclusion continues to be governed by the scope of the HTS 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.