USTR Issues New List of Items Excluded from 301 Duties
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued an additional list of Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers and articles that are exempt from additional the 25% duty outlined in Section 301 List 1. This list includes 3 classifications that cover all products under those HTS numbers. It also has 30 articles tied to a specific HTS number. Those specific articles also qualify for exclusion from the additional duty. The three subheadings that are fully excluded are: 8412.21.0045 8430.31.0040 8607.21.1000 There were 24 exclusion requests across those three categories. The following products were granted exclusions as subsets of 10-digit HTS codes: Submersible centrifugal pumps with 36-volt motors (8413.70.2004) Manual plastic salad spinners (8421.19.0000) Breast pumps (8413.81.0040) Saltwater aquarium filtering machines (8421.21.0000) Freshwater filtering machines for pools or aquariums (8421.21.0000) Hand-held ultraviolet water purifiers (8421.21.0000) Washing machine water purifiers (8421.21.0000) Wine sulfite filters (8421.22.0000) Filter housings, covers, or couplings (8421.99.004) Clip-on musical tuning gauges (9031.80.8085) LED modules between 113 and 339 mm (9013.80.7000) Certain ADP storage units (8471.70.6000) Depth-sounding apparatus with digital display, for recreational boating use (9014.80.2000) Battery powered soldering irons or soldering guns, 18 cm or shorter (8515.11.0000) Some small electrical transformers (8504.32.0000) Construction equipment cleated rubber tracks (8431.49.9095) Knobs of injection molded plastics (8538.90.6000) Compressor housings for turbochargers (8414.90.4165) Plastic check valves (8481.30.9000) Some ABS check valves (8481.30.9000) Certain plastic impellers for centrifugal pumps (8413.91.9095 or, before 2019, 8413.91.9080) Certain steel bucket elevators (8428.32.0000) Cast iron Impeller housings (8413.91.9095 or, before 2019, 8413.91.9080) Rotors used in paper making (8439.91.9000) Certain sizes of self-propelled asphalt pavers (8479.10.0060) Ultraviolet lamp filament assemblies (8539.90.0000) Certain types of AC electric motors between 6 and 16 W (8501.10.4020) Certain types of DC motors rated at 739.6 W (8501.31.5000) Certain plastic inoculator sets (9027.90.5650) Restraint packs designed for use with chest compressors (9018.90.7580) These exclusions are retroactive to imports from July 6, 2018 when the Section 301 additional duties for List 1 went into effect.
DOC Opens Investigation on Wooden Cabinets, Vanities
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has just opened an investigation for both antidumping duty (ADD) and countervailing duty (CVD) on wooden cabinets and vanities, and their components, being imported from China. They have been assigned case numbers ADD A-570-155 (for the ADD goods) and CVD C-570-107 (for the CVD goods). The investigations will take 45 days from initiation for the ADD and 65 days for the CVD. The main part of the scope for these cases is: “Merchandise subject to this investigation consists of wooden cabinets and vanities that are for permanent installation (including floor mounted, wall mounted, ceiling hung or by attachment of plumbing), and wooden components thereof. Wooden cabinets and vanities and wooden components are made substantially of wood products, including solid wood and engineered wood products (including those made from wood particles, fibers, or other wooden materials such as plywood, strand board, block board, particle board, or fiberboard), or bamboo. Wooden cabinets and vanities consist of a cabinet box (which typically includes a top, bottom, sides, back, base blockers, ends/end panels, stretcher rails, toe kicks, and/or shelves) and may or may not include a frame, door, drawers and/or shelves. Subject merchandise includes wooden cabinets and vanities with or without wood veneers, wood, paper or other overlays, or laminates, with or without non-wood components or trim such as metal, marble, glass, plastic, or other resins, whether or not surface finished or unfinished, and whether or not completed.” There are more details on the scope of both cases, including a list of excluded articles, included in Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) 19- 000166. This message also includes instructions on how to comment on the proposal for the cases during the investigation. Comments will be accepted until April 21, 2019.