USTR Finalizes Fourth List of Products from China that are Subject to Additional Duties

By The Customs and International Trade Team

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Authors: Douglas J. Heffner , Kathleen M. Murphy , Randy Rucker , James L. Sawyer , Richard Ferrin , Carrie Bethea Connolly , Nicolas Guzman , Qiusi Y. Newcom

On August 13, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced a finalized fourth list (List 4) of products from China that will be subject to additional 10% tariffs under Section 301.

These retaliatory duties cover an estimated $300 billion in imported Chinese products. The proposed list of items released in May effectively covered the remaining categories of imports from China that have not yet been subject to Section 301 tariffs. However, in response to public comment, USTR has removed certain products from its originally proposed list based on health, safety, national security and other factors.

In contrast to prior Section 301 lists, USTR is staggering the implementation of the latest List 4 tariffs. For most products (identified in List 4A), the 10 percent tariff will be effective September 1, 2019. For the remainder, USTR determined to delay implementing the tariffs until December 15, 2019. This second group of products (identified in List 4B) comprises:

Cell phones;
Laptop computers;
Video game consoles;
Certain toys;
Computer monitors;
Certain items of footwear and clothing;
Food and kitchen items;
Certain chemicals;
Baby products; and
Sports equipment.

USTR has announced that it expects to implement an exclusion process for products impacted by the latest tariffs. An announcement regarding the timing and scope of this exclusion process is expected from USTR shortly.

For further information, contact Douglas J. Heffner, Nate B. Bolin, James L. Sawyer, Kathleen M. Murphy, William R. Rucker, Richard P. Ferrin, Nicolas Guzman, Carolyn M. Bethea, Qiusi Y. Newcom or any other member of the Customs and International Trade Team.

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