USTR Announces Four-Year Review Process of China 301 Tariffs

Update: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is not expected to open a 60-day comment period for the domestic industry to submit requests for the continuation of Section 301 tariffs on List 3 and List 4 products. List 3 and List 4 are amendments to List 1 and List 2; therefore, any comments support the tariffs on List 3 and List 4 can be submitted on either the List 1 or List 2 docket.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a notice on May 3 commencing the statutory process required leading up to the four-year anniversaries of the Section 301 tariffs on imports from China, which may also result in the possible termination of the tariff actions.

The first step in the four-year review process is notifying representatives of domestic industries which benefit from the trade actions, as modified, of the possible termination of the actions, and of the opportunity for these representatives to request continuation of the actions.

Requests for continuation can be submitted through the USTR comments portal and must be received within the 60-day window prior to the four-year anniversary of the respective action:

If a request for continuation is received within the 60-day window for List 1 or List 2, USTR will keep the tariff action in place while proceeding to the next phase of the review process, which will include an opportunity for all interested stakeholders to provide comments.

USTR will consider the effectiveness of the action in achieving the objectives of Section 301, other actions that could be taken, and the effects of such actions on the United States economy, including consumers.

For more information, contact Angela Chiang, director, international affairs, Auto Care Association, at angela.chiang@autocare.org.