On April 3, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published a
list of products imported from China that it recommends be subject to a 25% tariff. The list includes numerous goods essential to U.S. manufacturing and technology industries. The USTR has proposed this tariff pursuant to an investigation conducted under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 2411), which authorizes the President to unilaterally impose restrictions against countries that violate trade agreements, or that engage in acts, policies or practices that are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict the United States.
The tariff proposed by the USTR under section 301 tariffs would be an additional duty of 25% on Chinese origin products. Accordingly, if a covered product is already subject to a 10% duty, it would now be subject to a 35% ad valorem rate of duty.
Public Comments and Hearing
The USTR’s product list is now open for public comment and we recommend that effected parties participate. Interested stakeholders will have the opportunity to submit comments and recommendations regarding the proposed action prior to its implementation. The public comment and hearing process will be held in accordance with the following schedule:
- Public comments: May 11, 2018 is the deadline for submission of written comments.
- Hearing: April 23, 2018 is the deadline to request to appear at the hearing. The hearing will be held on May 15, 2018.
- Rebuttal comments: May 22, 2018 is the deadline for submission of any post-hearing rebuttal comments.
All comments must be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal which can be found at regulations.gov Submitted comments will be posted for public inspection; however, USTR has provided procedures for submitting confidential business material.
Companies submitting public comments will have an opportunity to provide the USTR with meaningful feedback on, among other things:
- Why specific products should not be subject to increased duties
- Whether additional tariffs will cause economic harm to U.S. interests
- Whether increased tariffs would be effective in addressing concerns regarding China’s use of U.S. intellectual property, and other practices
Implementation
Once the public comment and hearing process is complete, the USTR will consult with other federal agencies and publish a final list of products and corresponding tariff increases. There are no statutory deadlines or self-imposed deadlines announced that indicate when the tariffs will be fully implemented. However, the USTR has acted swiftly thus far.
How Reed Smith Can Help
Reed Smith’s International Trade Group has experience representing companies that are impacted by import tariffs. A global firm with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Washington, DC, Reed Smith is particularly well positioned to represent your company and its trade interests before the USTR and other federal agencies, like Customs and Border Protection, which will implement any tariffs imposed.
Client Alert 2018-086
