The list of products identified as possible targets for the additional 25 percent duty assessment is comprehensive and defined by the eight-digit subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

On March 22, 2018, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) determined China violated Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The USTR, at that time, further advised that in accordance with the president’s memorandum, it would take certain actions against China, including the publication of a list of Chinese products that potentially would be subject to an additional 25 percent duty upon importation.

On April 3, 2018, the USTR published its Notice of Determination and Request for Public Comment concerning the proposed determination of action in connection with the alleged violations by China—particularly practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation.

The list of products identified as possible targets for the additional 25 percent duty assessment is comprehensive and defined by the eight-digit subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

As advised by the USTR, to be assured of consideration, interested parties must submit comments and responses in accordance with the following schedule:

April 23, 2018: Due date for filing requests to appear and a summary of expected testimony at the public hearing and for filing pre-hearing submissions.

May 11, 2018: Due date for submission of written comments.

May 15, 2018: The Section 301 Committee will convene a public hearing in the main hearing room of the U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20436, beginning at 10 a.m.

May 22, 2018: Due date for submission of post-submission hearing rebuttal comments.

The USTR requests comments with respect to any aspect of the proposed action including:

• 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 the increase, if any, in the rate of duty.
• The appropriate aggregate level of trade to be covered by additional duties.

Please refer to the USTR report for more specific information regarding your comments and the filing process. The USTR will post submissions in the docket for public inspection on their website under docket number USTR-2018-0005.

For alternatives to online submissions, interested parties are advised to contact Sandy McKinzy at 202.395.9483; for more substantive inquiries USTR has identified Arthur Tsao, Assistant General Counsel, at 202.395.5725; and Evan Conceicao, National Import Specialist at Customs and Border Protection, at Evan.M.Conceicao@cbp.dis.gov.

The complete Notice of Determination and the annex of products that may be subject to the additional 25 percent additional duty assessment may be found on the USTR website.

For Further Information

If you would like further information about this Alert, please contact Brian S. Goldstein, any member of the International Practice Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

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