On April 3, 2018, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released the proposed list of Chinese products that could be subject to an additional 25 percent tariff as part of the Section 301 probe into Chinese IP practices.

USTR recommended that a 25 percent tariff be applied to $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, covering nearly 1,300 HTS codes. Products within the scope of the proposed duty include engines, agricultural and textile machinery, semiconductors, batteries, tires, medical products, and instruments used in aeronautical and space navigation.

In addition, China unveiled another retaliation list of U.S. goods worth $50 billion that could be subject to an additional 25 percent tariff. China’s list of 106 products includes soybeans, airplanes, automobiles, beef, and chemicals.

The Section 301 Committee will convene a public hearing on May 15, 2018 to discuss the proposed action in response to China’s IP acts, policies, and practices. Requests to appear at the hearing must be submitted by April 23, 2018. The request must also include a summary of testimony, along with the pre-hearing submission. Interested parties may submit written comments by May 11, 2018, and post-rebuttal comments by May 22, 2018.

USTR requests that public comments include the following:

  • The specific products to be subject to increased duties, including whether products listed in the Annex should be retained or removed, or whether products not currently on the list should be added.
  • The level of increase in the rate of duty, if any.
  • The appropriate aggregate level of trade to be covered by additional duties.USTR also requests that commenters specify whether maintaining or imposing additional tariffs on the product would cause economic harm to U.S. interests.
  • If a party is commenting on the inclusion or removal of a product already listed as a proposed item to be subject to additional tariffs, USTR requests that commenters address whether imposing increased tariffs on the product would be practicable or effective in eliminating China’s IP acts, policies, and practices.
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Photo of Daniel Cannistra Daniel Cannistra

Dan Cannistra is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on legislative, executive and regulatory representation of domestic and international clients on a broad spectrum of international trade matters. Dan has represented domestic and foreign companies in over 75

Dan Cannistra is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on legislative, executive and regulatory representation of domestic and international clients on a broad spectrum of international trade matters. Dan has represented domestic and foreign companies in over 75 U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty cases before the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission under the Tariff Act of 1930. Many of these matters involved appeals to the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, binational panels under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization (WTO). Dan has also represented clients in antidumping proceedings in the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India, Thailand, Singapore, Guatemala and Taiwan.

Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Dan was a director in a national accounting firm providing customs and international trade guidance to multinational clients related to the supply and distribution of goods and services across international borders. Areas of specialization included antidumping and countervailing duties and policy, trade remedies and litigation, free trade agreements and negotiations, classification and valuation, and international trade and development.

Dan’s government appointments include service to U.S. Trade Representative on the roster of international trade practitioners to resolve antidumping disputes involving NAFTA members. For the European Commission, Dan provided advice and training on international trade and antidumping methodology and practice. In addition, Dan has served as an international trade consultant to the governments of Guatemala and Singapore, providing technical advice to these governments on the application of international trade regulations consistent with international law and World Trade Organization agreements and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Agreement on Antidumping.