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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

18 April 2019
(updated on 24 April 2019)

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 300/2019

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

Further to Commercial Information Circular (CIC) Nos. 1163/2018 and 209/2019 of 28 December 2018 and 21 March 2019 respectively regarding the first and second batches of products excluded from the additional tariffs of 25% as imposed by the US on certain Mainland products worth approximately US$34 billion under the Section 301 investigation, the US Trade Representative (USTR) issued on 18 April 2019 a Federal Register (FR) notice to announce the third batch of products to be excluded from the additional tariffs. These product exclusions will be retroactive to 6 July 2018, and remain in place until 17 April 2020. The USTR will continue to issue decisions on pending requests 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. Subsequently, the USTR announced the first and the second batches of excluded products in December 2018 and March 2019. For details, please refer to CIC nos. 1163/2018 and 209/2019 dated 28 December 2018 and 21 March 2019 respectively.

3.The USTR further announced on 18 April 2019 the third batch of products to be excluded from the additional tariffs. The products include 21 specially prepared product descriptions, covering pumps designed for countertop appliances for serving beer; roller machines designed for cutting, etching, or embossing paper, foil, or fabric; water oxidizers and chlorinators; ratchet winches designed for use with textile fabric strapping; parts of drill sharpening machines; outer shells of hydraulic accumulators; parts of mechanical awnings and shades; pipe brackets of aluminium designed for installation into air brake control valves; ball bearings of a width not exceeding 30 mm; inductor baseplates of aluminium; parts of soldering irons and soldering machines; motor vehicle gear shift switch assemblies; pressure switches designed for use in heat pumps and air-conditioning condensers; instruments for measuring or checking voltage or electrical connections; etc.

4.These product exclusions will be retroactive to 6 July 2018, and remain in place until 17 April 2020. 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.

5.For further details, please refer to the relevant notices:

  • FR notice on third batch of products excluded from 25% tariff (18 April 2019):
    https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-04-18/pdf/2019-07758.pdf
  • US Customs and Border Protection's guidance note on filing entries subject to third batch of product exclusions (19 April 2019):
    https://csms.cbp.gov/viewmssg.asp?Recid=24203&page=&srch_argv=19-000212&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby=

ENQUIRIES

6.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact Miss K Y HO at telephone number 2398 5405.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Ivy TAM)
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.