On February 21, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a notice in the Federal Register that increases duties on certain large civil aircraft from 10 percent to 15 percent, effective March 18, 2020. This follows the Section 301 review and requests for comments by the USTR, covered in our December 17, 2019, Alert on the topic. The USTR's notification is the latest development in a dispute between the United States and the European Union regarding subsidization of large civil aircraft manufacturers.
Specifically, this rule applies to new airplanes and other aircraft (other than military airplanes or other military aircraft) exceeding 30,000 kilograms imported from the EU. This decision follows review of public comments on the Section 301 tariffs and reflects the dispute with the EU. At this time, the USTR has decided not to increase the rate of duties above the additional 25 percent currently applied to nonaircraft products.
To implement the increases, the USTR is modifying subsection 9903.89.05 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule by deleting “10%” and inserting “15%” in lieu thereof for products of France, Germany, Spain or the United Kingdom.
Additionally, the USTR determined the action may be revised in the event the EU imposes additional duties on U.S. products in connection with the dispute or the EU’s World Trade Organization challenge to the alleged subsidization of U.S. large civil aircraft.
Clients should review the USTR’s Federal Register notice to determine whether products they import or rely on as components are negatively affected by the duty increases.
For More Information
If you would like further information about this Alert or have questions about importing aircraft parts under Section 301, please contact Michael E. Barnicle, Brian S. Goldstein, Geoffrey M. Goodale, Keith J. Feigenbaum, Jamie E. Brown, any of the attorneys in our International Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.