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

20 June 2019
(updated on 24 June 2019)

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 464/2019

US : Section 301 Tariffs on US$200 billion of Products of Mainland China - Request for Product Exclusion Process

The US Trade Representative (USTR) announced on 19 June 2019 a process by which US stakeholder may request product exclusions from the additional tariffs on US$200 billion of Mainland products under the Section 301 investigation. Interested persons must submit requests for exclusions in the period between 30 June 2019 and 30 September 2019.

DETAILS

2.The US imposed on 24 September 2018 an additional tariff of 10% on Mainland imports worth approximately US$200 billion ("List 3") under the Section 301 investigation against the Mainland. The tariff was increased from 10% to 25% on 10 May 2019. For details, please refer to Commercial Information Circular nos. 888/2018, 357/2019 and 426/2019 dated 28 September 2018, 9 May 2019 and 3 June 2019 respectively.

3.On 19 June 2019, the USTR announced the relevant procedures for interested persons, including trade associations, to submit requests for product exclusion from the additional tariffs on US$200 billion of Mainland products ("List 3"). The exclusion process has the following important dates and features:

  • The web portal for submitting exclusion requests (http://exclusions.USTR.gov) will open on 30 June 2019 at noon Eastern Daylight Time. The deadline for submitting exclusion requests is 30 September 2019.
  • After a request for exclusion is posted on USTR's online portal, interested persons will have 14 days to respond to the request. Any replies to responses to an exclusion request are due the later of 7 days after the close of the 14-day response period, or 7 days after the posting of a response.
  • Each request must specifically identify a particular product, and provide supporting data and the rationale for the requested exclusion.
  • Interested persons seeking to exclude two or more products must submit a separate request for each product, i.e., one product per request.
  • Exclusions will be effective for one year upon the publication of the exclusion determination in the Federal Register (FR), and will apply retroactively to 24 September 2018.

4.The USTR will evaluate each request on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the asserted rationale for the exclusion, whether the exclusion would undermine the objective of the Section 301 investigation, and whether the request defines the product with sufficient precision. With regard to the rationale for the requested exclusion, each requester will be asked to address the following:

  • Whether the particular product is available only from China and whether the particular product and/or a comparable product is available from sources in the US and/or in third countries.
  • Whether the requester has attempted to source the product from the US or third countries.
  • Whether the imposition of additional duties (since September 2018) on the particular product has or will cause severe economic harm to the requester or other US interests.
  • Whether the particular product is strategically important or related to "Made in China 2025" or other Chinese industrial programs.

5.The USTR formally issued on 24 June 2019 a FR notice on the above product exclusion process, which is available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-06-24/pdf/2019-13376.pdf.

ENQUIRIES

6.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at 2398 5682.

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.