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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
MY COLOUR

Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref. :EIC 111/2/18
EIC 111/3
EIC 111/3/13
CR EIC 111/1/13/3

28 December 2018

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 1163/2018

US : Section 301 Tariffs on Mainland Products Worth US$34 billion - First Batch of Products Excluded from 25% Tariffs

Further to Commercial Information Circular (CIC) Nos. 659/2018 and 675/2018 of 6 and 9 July 2018 respectively regarding the additional tariffs of 25% imposed by the US on certain Mainland products worth approximately US$34 billion under the Section 301 investigation and the related product exclusion request process, the US Trade Representative (USTR) issued on 28 December 2018 a Federal Register (FR) notice to announce the first batch of products to be excluded from the Section 301 tariffs.   These product exclusions will be retroactive to 6 July 2018, and remain in place until 27 December 2019.  The USTR will continue to issue decisions on pending request on a periodic basis. 

DETAILS

2.On 6 July 2018, the US imposed an additional tariff of 25% on 818 tariff lines of Mainland products worth approximately US$34 billion under the Section 301 investigation. The USTR also initiated an exclusion process for stakeholders to submit requests for the exclusion of specific products from the additional tariffs.

3.The USTR issued on 28 December 2018 a FR notice to announce the first batch of products to be excluded from the additional tariffs of 25% on Mainland products worth approximately US$34 billion. The products include certain hydraulic power engines and motors, certain refrigerating or freezing equipment, certain molds for rubber or plastics, certain ball bearings, certain transceivers, as well as 24 specially prepared product descriptions, covering certain spark-ignition engines for marine propulsion, stainless steel stretchers, roller machines with dies for embossing paper, plastic salad spinners, water filtration apparatus, winches, elevators, belt conveyors, work stands, radiation therapy systems, thermostats, stainless steel guards, stainless steel scrapers, and stainless steel suction boxes, etc.

4.These product exclusions will be retroactive to 6 July 2018, and remain in place until 27 December 2019. The exclusions are available for any product that meets the description set out in the exclusion, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. The USTR will continue to issue decisions on pending requests on a periodic basis. Relatedly, the US Customs and Border Protection will issue instructions on entry guidance and implementation.

5.For further details, please refer to the relevant FR notice: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-12-28/pdf/2018-28277.pdf

ENQUIRIES

6.For enquiries about the content of this circular, please contact Mr Lewis LAU at telephone number 2398 5405.

Yours faithfully,

(Ms Janette NG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

Note: While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.