On June 3, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), requested the public to submit comments regarding potential product exclusion extensions for items subject to Section 301 Tariffs. This comment period specifically applied to products that were included on List 1, which went into effect on July 6, 2018, and had an annual trade value of $34 Billion.
List 1 imposed 25 percent additional duties on 818 eight-digit subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
The June 3 announcement was made via federal register notice and stated that submissions were to be made no later than July 7, 2020. Less than three months later, on September 20, 2020, USTR announced its determination to extend certain exclusions through the end of the year.
Although USTR could have extended the exclusions for up to 12 months, these exclusions are effective as of September 20, 2020, and will now expire on December 31, 2020.
In line with USTR’s general policy relating to tariff exclusions, if a given HTSUS is granted an extension to its exclusion, all products that accurately meet the description in the Annex has been granted an extension, too.
- For goods entered into the US between September 20, 2020, and December 31, 2020, subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS is modified:
(1) by inserting the following new heading 9903.88.58 in numerical sequence with the material in the new heading inserted in the columns of the HSTSUS:
| Heading/ Subheading | Article Description | Rates of Duty
————————-(1) ————————- General |
| “9903.88.58 | Effective with respect to entries on or after September 20, 2020, and through December 31, 2020, articles the product of China, as provided for in U.S. note 20(kkk) to this subchapter, each covered by an exclusion granted by the U.S. Trade Representative…… | …The duty provided in the applicable subheading” |
(2) by inserting the following new U.S. note 20(kkk:) to subchapter III of chapter 99 in numerical sequence:
“(kkk:) The U.S. Trade Representative determined to establish a process by which particular products classified in heading 9903.88.01 and provided for in U.S. notes 20(a) and 20(b) to this subchapter could be excluded from the additional duties imposed by heading 9903.88.01. See 83 Fed. Reg. 40823 (August 16, 2018) and 83 Fed. Reg. 47326 (September 18, 2018). Pursuant to the product exclusion process, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined that, as provided in heading 9903.88.58, the additional duties provided for in heading 9903.88.01 shall not apply to the following particular products, which are provided for in the enumerated statistical reporting numbers:
| # | Article Description | Statistical Reporting Number |
| (1) | Submersible centrifugal pumps (other than fuel, lubricating or cooling medium pumps for internal combustion piston engines; other than stock pumps imported for use with machines for making cellulosic pulp, paper or paperboard), not fitted or designed to be fitted with a measuring device, the foregoing capable of operating at 3,700 liters or more but not exceeding 41,000 liters per hour | 8413.70.2004
|
| (2) | Tabletop water fountains designed for indoor use, the essential character of which is imparted by submersible centrifugal pumps | 8413.70.2004 |
| (3) | Rotary compressors, each exceeding 746 W but not exceeding 2,238 W, with a cooling capacity ranging from 2.3 kW to 5.5 kW | 8414.30.8060 |
| (4) | Thermal roll laminators, each valued not over $450 | 8420.10.9040 |
| (5) | Cutting pads, platforms, base plates, pads, shims, trays, which function as guides for hand-operated table-top calendering machines of a width not exceeding 51 cm | 8420.99.9000
|
| (6) | Ionization filters valued over $35 but not over $45 each | 8421.21.0000 |
| (7) | Disposable plastic filters of a kind suitable for filtering and dehumidifying a patient’s breath in a medical device such as a gas analyzer | 8421.39.8090
|
| (8) | Parts of swimming pool vacuum cleaners | 8421.99.0040 |
| (9) | 3-member slides with ball bearings, of stainless steel, for use in household dishwashers | 8422.90.0640 |
| (10) | Shovel loaders, each with a bucket capacity of 11.4 m3 to 12 m3, and an operating weight of 30,000 kg or more but not exceeding 36,000 kg | 8429.51.1055
|
| (11) | Animal feeding machinery | 8436.80.0090 |
| (12) | Parts of animal feeding machinery | 8436.99.0090 |
| (13) | Ink cartridges, each weighing more than 1 kg | 8443.99.2010 |
| (14) | Printer maintenance kits consisting of two or more replacement parts for printer units of subheading 8443.32.10 specified in additional U.S. note 2 to chapter 84 | 8443.99.2050 |
| (15) | Horizontal lathes for removing metal, electrically powered, not numerically controlled, each with mill head attachment mounted above the lathe headstock | 8458.19.0020
|
| (16) | New numerically-controlled milling machines capable of end beveling pipe of an outside diameter of 60 cm or more but not exceeding 305 cm | 8459.61.0080 |
| (17) | Press brakes, not numerically controlled, having a drive capacity rating of 3kW | 8462.29.0030 |
| (18) | New hydraulic shearing machines, not numerically controlled, with a power of 7.5 kW, valued at $3,025 or more each | 8462.39.0050
|
| (19) | Tool holders of a kind used to hold various types of metal working tools for use on milling machine spindles | 8466.10.0175 |
| (20) | Modularized plants for the manufacture of lithium hydroxide by functions involving mixing, kneading or stirring | 8479.82.0040
|
| (21) | Ball type angle cock valve bodies, of cast iron, for oleohydraulic or pneumatic transmissions | 8481.90.9020 |
| (22) | Valve bodies, of aluminum, of valves for oleohydraulic or pneumatic transmissions | 8481.90.9020
|
| (23) | Hydraulic valve parts, other than valve bodies, of valves for oleohydraulic or pneumatic transmissions, each valued not over $5 | 8481.90.9040
|
| (24) | Angular contact ball bearings, not for use with wheel hub bearing units, having an inner diameter of 25 mm or greater but not exceeding 55 mm, an outer diameter of 50 mm or greater but not exceeding 95 mm, a width of 20 mm or greater but not exceeding 35 mm, with single or double row of steel balls and a cage of steel or plastics | 8482.10.5028
|
| (25) | Angular contact ball bearings, not over 40 mm in width, other than wheel hub bearing units | 8482.10.5028
|
| (26) | Electric motors, AC, permanent split capacitor type, not exceeding 16 W | 8501.10.4020 |
| (27) | DC motors, of an output exceeding 37.5 W but not exceeding 74.6 W, valued over $2 but not over $30 each | 8501.31.2000 |
| (28) | AC motors, multi-phase, of rolled steel frame construction | 8501.51.4040 |
| (29) | AC motors, multi-phase, of an output of 186.5 kW or more but not exceeding 373 kW, having a cast iron frame construction | 8501.53.8040 |
| (30) | Dual layer printed circuit board assemblies, each valued over $30 but not over $35 | 8504.90.7500
|
| (31) | Transceivers, IO-meter, not hand-held, for operation in infrequencies of 28.000 to 29.700 MHz | 8525.60.1050
|
| (32) | Limit switches, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V, each valued over $19 but not over $32 | 8536.50.9055
|
| (33) | Modular light switches, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V, presented in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) housings, designed for use with a backplate | 8536.50.9065
|
| (34) | Switches designed for use in motor vehicles, driver or passenger activated | 8536.50.9065
|
| (35) | Coaxial connectors, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V, valued over $0.20 but not over $0.30 each | 8536.69.4010
|
| (36) | Butt splice connectors, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V, each valued not over $3 | 8536.90.4000 |
| (37) | Ring terminals, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V | 8536.90.4000 |
| (38) | Twist-on wire connectors, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V, each valued not over $0.03 | 8536.90.4000
|
| (39) | S-band and X-band linear accelerators designed for use in radiation surgery or radiation therapy equipment | 8543.10.0000
|
| (40) | Four-wheel off-road vehicles, with only spark-ignition internal combustion reciprocating piston engines, of a cylinder capacity not exceeding 1,000 cc, with straddle seat and handlebar control, each with label indicating that vehicle is for operation only by persons at least 16 years of age, each valued not over $5000 | 8703.21.0110
|
| (41) | Works trucks, electrical, operator riding, each of a curb weight exceeding 8,500 kg but not exceeding 9,500 kg | 8709.11.0030
|
| (42) | Depth-sounding apparatus, each valued not over $50 | 9014.80.2000 |
| (43) | Disposable electrocardiograph (ECG) electrodes | 9018.11.9000 |
| (44) | Portable ultrasonic scanner consoles, each weighing less than 4 kg, presented with or without transducer | 9018.12.9000 |
| (45) | Digital peak flow meters suitable for use by medical professionals | 9018.19.9550 |
| (46) | Fingertip pulse oximeters suitable for use by medical professionals | 9018.19.9550 |
| (47) | Bismuth germanate crystals with set dimensional and surface finish requirements and used as a detection element in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detectors | 9018.19.9560
|
| (48) | Magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) patient enclosure devices, each incorporating radiofrequency and gradient coils | 9018.19.9560
|
| (49) | Parts and accessories of capnography monitors | 9018.19.9560 |
| (50) | Otoscopes | 9018.90.2000 |
| (51) | Anesthesia masks | 9018.90.3000 |
| (52) | Electrosurgical cautery pencils with electrical connectors | 9018.90.6000 |
| (53) | Printed circuit board assemblies designed for use in displaying operational performance of medical infusion equipment | 9018.90.7580
|
| (54) | X-ray tables | 9022.90.2500 |
| (55) | X-ray tube housings and parts thereof | 9022.90.4000 |
| (56) | Parts and accessories, of metal, for mobile X-ray apparatus | 9022.90.6000 |
| (57) | Printed circuit board assemblies, of a kind designed for use in X-ray apparatus | 9022.90.6000 |
| (58) | Vertical stands specially designed to support, contain or adjust the movement of Xray digital detectors, or the X-ray tube and collimator in complete X-ray diagnostic systems | 9022.90.6000 |
| (59) | Thermoplastic masks of polycaprolactone for the use of immobilizing patients, during the use of alpha, beta or gamma radiations, for radiography or radiotherapy | 9022.90.9500 |
| (60) | Automatic thermostats for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, containing temperature and humidity sensors, designed for wall mounting | 9032.10.0030
|
| (61) | Battery balancers designed for regulating voltage across batteries, other than for 6, 12 or 24 volt systems | 9032.89.4000 |
| (62) | Thermostat covers | 9032.90.6120 |
The technical amendments to the exclusions to certain Notes to Subchapter III of Chapter 99 of the HTSUS can be found below:
| Notes: | (Old) Modified by deleting… | (New) … and, in lieu thereof, inserting… |
| 20(a) | “or (10)” | “(10)”; and by inserting “; or (11) heading 9903.88.58 and U.S. note 20(kkk) to subchapter III of chapter 99″ after the phrase “U.S. note 20(eee) to subchapter III of chapter 99” |
| 20(b) | “or (10)” | “(10)”; and by inserting “; or (11) heading 9903.88.58 and U.S. note 20(kkk) to subchapter III of chapter 99” after the phrase “U.S. note 20(eee) to subchapter III of chapter 99”, where it appears at the end of the sentence. |
| Article Description of heading: 9903.88.01 | “9903.88.50 or” | 9903.88.50; and by inserting “or 9903.88.58,” after “9903.88.52” |
Additionally, included in the September 20, 2020, Federal Register Notice is a table that lists the original product exclusions that are being extended. The table also contains the corresponding subdivisions in new note 20 (kkk) to subchapter III of Chapter 99 and new heading 9903.88.58 for the product exclusions that are being extended by this notice:
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