Health & Beauty

Background abstract

In response to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) previously announced on March 5, 2021 local time a list of four batches of medical products that have been exempted and extended for the validity period. It was decided to extend the validity period of the additional tariff exclusions for four batches of medical protection products, involving 99 medical protection products, and the exclusion validity period is from April 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021.

On August 27, 2021, the Office of the United States Trade Representative released a new update on the USTR comment portal: open to the American public to submit before September 27, 2021 to discuss whether to continue to extend the 99 exempted products that are about to expire.

Entry for submission of comments: https://comments.ustr.gov/s/

Deadline for submission: September 27, 2021 (US time)

According to the data on new cases in the United States shown in the New York Times in the past month, it is expected that the exclusion period will continue to be extended with a higher probability, and the exclusion list may eventually change.

Explanation of the U.S. Comments on the Extension of China's Section 301 Tariff Exclusion

If the exclusion continues to be extended, the exclusion effect applies to any product that meets the designated HTS code and product description, and the importer can enjoy the exemption from additional tariffs regardless of whether the importer has submitted an exclusion request.

USTR stated that it will evaluate each exclusion request on a case-by-case basis. Given the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 and the increase in domestic production of certain products, the assessment will check whether it is still appropriate to exclude the product. USTR will also consider the overall impact of these exclusions on achieving the goal of eliminating Chinese behavior, policies, and practices covered by the original 301 investigation.

List of 99 medical products with extended period of exemption from tariffs

It is worth noting that some HS codes are completely excluded, that is, all products under the HS codes are exempt from tariffs. However, some products that meet the exclusion description under the HS code can be excluded.