The US Trade Representative (USTR) is seeking public comment and has published a notice of public hearing in regard to the proposed tariffs on 1,300 tariff lines of Chinese products. The proposed tariffs, which would impose an additional 25 percent duty, come as a result of a USTR-led investigation under Secti/us-proposes-25-tariffs-chinese-products/on 301 that found unfair trade practices associated with US imports from China.
In a Federal Register notice dated April 6th, the USTR announced they would invite comments from interested persons regarding the proposed tariffs. The nature of the comments can pertain to:
- specific products that will be subject to increased duties, and whether they should be retained, removed, or others should be added,
- the level of duty increase,
- and the appropriate aggregate level of trade covered by the additional duties.
Commenters should address whether imposing the increased duties would be effective in combating unfair Chinese trade and whether the duties would cause economic hardship to US interests. May 11, 2018, is the deadline for submitting written comments, as the Section 301 Committee will convene a public hearing on May 15th.
If you have specific questions regarding your products, please contact Deringer’s Compliance Department.