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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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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

27 November 2019
(Last updated on 9 December 2019)

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 858/2019

US : Section 301 Tariffs on Mainland Products Worth US$200 billion - Fifth Batch of Products Excluded from Additional Tariffs

The US Trade Representative (USTR) announced on 26 November 2019 the fifth batch of products to be excluded from the additional tariffs imposed on Mainland products worth approximately US$200 billion ("List 3") under the Section 301 investigation and the official Federal Register (FR) notice was issued on 29 November 2019. These product exclusions will be retroactive to 24 September 2018, and remain in place until 7 August 2020. The USTR will continue to issue decisions on pending requests on a periodic basis.

DETAILS

2.On 24 September 2018, the US imposed an additional tariff of 10% on Mainland imports worth approximately US$200 billion ("List 3") under the Section 301 investigation. The tariff was increased from 10% to 25% on 10 May 2019. 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 four batches of excluded products in August, September, October and November 2019. For details, please refer to Commercial Information Circular nos. 594/2019, 703/2019, 771/2019 and 811/2019 dated 5 August 2019, 19 September 2019, 24 October 2019 and 8 November 2019 respectively.

3.The USTR announced on 26 November 2019 the fifth batch of products to be excluded from the additional tariffs. The products include 32 specially prepared product descriptions, covering candy lollipops; plastic trays; nonelectrical graphite sheets; foldable stepladders of steel; telescoping curtain rod sets put up for retail sale; wireline bridge plug assemblies for use in oil and gas fields; vacuum cleaners; bicycles; carts; canoes; folding chairs and tables; outdoor tables of steel and aluminium; electric household floor-standing lamps; electric household table or desk lamps; etc.

4.These product exclusions will be retroactive to 24 September 2018, and remain in place until 7 August 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 the fifth batch of products excluded from Section 301 tariffs (29 November 2019):
    https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-11-29/pdf/2019-25820.pdf
  • US Customs and Border Protection's guidance note on filing entries for products excluded from Section 301 Tariffs (List 3) (6 December 2019):
    https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSCBP-2701d28?wgt_ref=USDHSCBP_WIDGET_2

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.