Section 301 Exclusion Process

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 delegates to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) authority to investigate and respond to unfair foreign trade practices that could harm domestic interests. Under Section 301, USTR can act against foreign countries that violate U.S. trade agreements or engage in acts that are “unjustifiable”

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) opened its exclusion request process on October 15, 2024, allowing for importers to request temporary exclusion from Section 301 tariffs on certain Chinese machinery and equipment. The purpose of this exclusion process is to encourage US manufacturing by permitting machinery to be imported duty-free.  This process

On October 15, 2024, the Office of the United States Representative (“USTR”) announced a new process for interested parties to request temporary exclusion from Section 301 duties on certain Chinese-origin goods.  The new exclusion process is limited, but key for stakeholders with a nexus to domestic manufacturing in the United States.  Exclusions may apply for

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) today published a request for comments on the proposed modifications and machinery exclusion process in its Four-Year Review of Section 301 tariffs (the “Review”), published last week. The Review did not recommend removing any subheadings from Section 301 tariffs, but rather proposed the following increases:

Product

As the four-year review of Section 301 duties continues, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) stated last week that the Biden administration will be extending tariff exclusions through May 31, 2024. These exclusions, listed in the USTR’s index, were set to expire on December 31, 2023, but the administration chose to extend

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced on September 6, 2023 the further extension of 352 reinstated exclusions and 77 COVID-related exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs on imports from China. These exclusions, which cover a variety of products ranging from machinery components to medical equipment, constitute the only remaining active exclusions

This is an update from our October 4, 2021 post on this topic.

On October 4, 2021, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai delivered a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) detailing the Biden Administration’s new strategy for managing U.S.-China trade relations. Tai announced that the USTR will restart a 

On October 4, 2021, United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) Katherine Tai delivered a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) highlighting the Biden Administration’s new strategy for navigating U.S.-China trade relations. Ambassador Tai focused her remarks on President Biden’s vision for a worker-centered trade policy in the U.S.-China trade dynamic, however the

On June 17, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Generalized System of Preferences and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Modernization Act of 2021. The announced legislation follows Senate passage of similar GSP and MTB provisions, as well as Section 301 provisions in the Trade Act of 2021 as part of the omnibus U.S. Innovation

On June 8, 2021, the Senate voted 68 to 32 to approve The American Innovation and Competition Act. Among other pieces of legislation, the omnibus package includes The Trade Act of 2021 which contains provisions to reestablish a Section 301 tariff exclusion and renewal process. Specifically, Division G (The Trade Act of 2021), Title III,