Chinese Product Retaliatory Tariffs List Published

Carolyn B. Gleason

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US Trade Representative Publishes List of Chinese Products Subject to Retaliatory Tariffs

by: Carolyn B. Gleason of McDermott Will & Emery - On the Subject

Friday, April 6, 2018

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Summary

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published a list of 1,300 Chinese products, valued at $50 billion, on which it intends to impose an additional 25 percent tariff in retaliation for the “harm to the US economy” resulting from certain Chinese industrial policies. USTR also announced a public comment period to enable interested parties to request that products be removed from the list. In response to this April 3 announcement, China announced its own retaliatory import tariffs on 106 US products.

In Depth

On April 3, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published a list of 1,300 Chinese products, valued at $50 billion, on which it intends to impose a 25 percent tariff on top of any existing US tariff in retaliation for the “harm to the US economy” resulting from certain Chinese industrial policies. The full US retaliation list, available here, includes products from the chapters listed in Annex I below.

In conjunction with its list, USTR announced a public comment period to enable interested parties to request that products be removed from, or added to, the list. Comments must be filed by May 11, 2018. The agency will also hold a public hearing on May 15, 2018, for parties wishing to comment further on the list. USTR has not set a specific deadline for implementing the new tariffs, but said it will provide “final options” to President Trump after the comment and hearing process conclude.

In addition to the proposed retaliatory tariffs, President Trump has also directed the Secretary of the Treasury to develop new restrictions on inbound Chinese investments aimed at preventing Chinese-controlled companies and funds from acquiring US firms with sensitive technologies. The US Treasury Department has until May 21, 2018, to develop these restrictions, which will be in addition to the restrictions already imposed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

In response to the administration’s April 3 announcement, China announced its own retaliatory import tariffs on 106 US products. Its retaliation products, listed below in Annex II, will face 25 percent tariffs should the Trump administration move forward with its announced tariffs.

After China issued its retaliatory tariff list, President Trump directed USTR on April 5 to assemble an additional $100 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs against Chinese goods on the grounds that China had unfairly retaliated against American farmers and manufacturers rather than addressing its own “misconduct.” The specific additional tariffs, once announced by USTR, will be subject to a review and public comment period similar to the one now underway for USTR’s initial $50 billion list.

McDermott is actively engaged in this issue and can assist Firm clients and contacts affected by the announcement, including with the preparation of comments and other advocacy efforts to influence products on the list. Please contact any of the authors to seek assistance or learn more.

This post includes contributions from Leon Liu from China Law Offices.

Annex I

HTS Chapters Represented on the USTR Retaliatory List*

HTS Chapter	Product
28	Inorganic chemicals; organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth metals, of radioactive elements or of isotopes
29	Organic chemicals
30	Pharmaceutical products
38	Miscellaneous chemical products
40	Rubber and articles thereof
72	Iron and steel
73	Articles of iron or steel
76	Aluminum and articles thereof
83	Miscellaneous articles of base metal
84	Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof
85	Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles
86	Railway or tramway locomotives, rolling-stock and parts thereof; railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings and parts thereof; mechanical (including electro-mechanical) traffic signaling equipment of all kinds
87	Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof
88	Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof
89	Ships, boats and floating structures
90	Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments, and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof
91	Clocks and watches and parts thereof
93	Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof
94	Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; lamps and lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated sign illuminated nameplates and the like; prefabricated buildings

* Not all products contained in each chapter are represented. For the complete list, visit: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/301FRN.pdf

Annex II

Unofficial Translation of China’s Retaliation List

No.	Product	HTS Code
1.	Yellow soybean	12019010
2.	Black soybean	12019020
3.	Corn	10059000
4.	Cornflour	11022000
5.	Uncombed cotton	52010000
6.	Cotton linters	14042000
7.	Sorghum	10079000
8.	Brewing or distilling dregs and waste	23033000
9.	Other durum wheat	10011900
10.	Other wheat and mixed wheat	10019900
11.	Whole and half head fresh and cold beef	02011000
12.	Fresh and cold beef with bones	02012000
13.	Fresh and cold boneless beef	02013000
14.	Frozen beef with bones	02021000
15.	Frozen boneless beef	02022000
16.	Frozen boneless meat	02023000
17.	Other frozen beef chops	02062900
18.	Dried cranberries	20089300
19.	Frozen orange juice	20091100
20.	Non-frozen orange juice	20091200
21.	Whiskies	22083000
22.	Unstemmed flue-cured tobacco	24011010
23.	Other unstemmed tobacco	24011090
24.	Flue-cured tobacco partially or totally removed	24012010
25.	Partially or totally deterred tobacco stems	24012090
26.	Tobacco waste	24013000
27.	Tobacco cigars	24021000
28.	Tobacco cigarettes	24022000
29.	Cigars and cigarettes, tobacco substitutes	24029000
30.	Hookah tobacco	24031100
31.	Other tobacco for smoking	24031900
32.	Reconstituted tobacco	24039100
33.	Other tobacco and tobacco substitute products	24039900
34.	SUVs with discharge capacity of 2.5L to 3L	87032362
35.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 2500ml, but not exceeding 3000ml for SUVs (4 wheel drive)	87034052
36.	Vehicles with discharge capacity of 1.5L to 2L	87032342
37.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 1000ml, but not exceeding 1500ml for SUVs (4 wheel drive)	87034032
38.	Passenger cars with discharge capacity 1.5L to 2L, 9 seats or less	87032343
39.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 1000ml, but not exceeding 1500ml for 9 passenger cars and below	87034033
40.	Passenger cars with discharge capacity of 3L to 4L, 9 seats or less	87032413
41.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 3000ml, but not exceeding 4000ml for 9 passenger cars and below	87034063
42.	Off-road vehicles with discharge capacity of 2L to 2.5L	87032352
43.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 2000ml, but not exceeding 2500ml for off-road vehicles	87034042
44.	Passenger cars with discharge capacity of 2L to 2.5L, 9 seats or less	87032353
45.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 2000ml, but not exceeding 2500ml for 9 passenger cars and below	87034043
46.	Off-road vehicles with discharge capacity of 3L to 4L	87032412
47.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 3000ml, but not exceeding 4000ml for off-road vehicles	87034062
48.	Diesel-powered off-road vehicles with discharge capacity of 2.5L to 3L	87033312
49.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 2500ml, but not exceeding 3000ml for diesel-powered off-road vehicles	87035052
50.	Passenger cars with discharge capacity of 2.5L to 3L, 9 seats or less	87032363
51.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement exceeding 2500ml, but not exceeding 3000ml for 9 passenger cars and below	87034053
52.	Off-road vehicles with discharge capacity of less than 4L	87032422
53.	Other vehicles equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source. Cylinder capacity displacement not exceeding 4000ml for off-road vehicles	87034072
54.	Other vehicles which are equipped with an ignited reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor and can be charged by plugging in an external power source	87034090
55.	Other vehicles that are equipped with a compression ignition type internal combustion engine (diesel or semi-diesel) and a drive motor, other than vehicles that can be charged by plugging in an external power source	87035090
56.	Other vehicles which are equipped with an ignition reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor and can be charged by plugging in an external power source	87036000
57.	Other vehicles that are equipped with a compression-ignition reciprocating piston internal combustion engine and a drive motor that can be charged by plugging in an external power source	87037000
58.	Other vehicles that only drive the motor	87038000
59.	Other vehicles	87039000
60.	Other gasoline trucks of less than 5 tons	87043100
61.	Transmissions and parts for motor vehicles not classified	87084099
62.	Liquefied Propane	27111200
63.	Primary Shaped Polycarbonate	39074000
64.	Supported catalysts with noble metals and their compounds as actives	38151200
65.	Diagnostic or experimental reagents attached to backings, except for goods of tariff lines 32.02, 32.06	38220010
66.	Chemical products and preparations for the chemical industry and related industries, not elsewhere specified	38249999
67.	Products containing PFOS and its salts, perfluorooctanyl sulfonamide or perfluorooctane sulfonyl chloride in note 3 of this chapter	38248700
68.	Items listed in note 3 of this chapter containing four, five, six, seven or octabromodiphenyl ethers	38248800
69.	Contains 1,2,3,4,5,6-HCH (6,6,6) (ISO), including lindane (ISO, INN)	38248500
70.	Primarily made of dimethyl (5-ethyl-2-methyl-2oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorin-5-yl)methylphosphonate and double [(5-b Mixtures and products of 2-methyl-2-oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorin-5-yl)methyl] methylphosphonate (FRC-1)	38249100
71.	Containing pentachlorobenzene (ISO) or hexachlorobenzene (ISO)	38248600
72.	Containing aldrin (ISO), toxaphene (ISO), chlordane (ISO), chlordecone (ISO), DDT (ISO) [Diptrix (INN), 1,1,1-trichloro-2 ,2-Bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane], Dieldrin (ISO, INN), Endosulfan (ISO), Endrin (ISO), Heptachlor (ISO) or Mirex (ISO).	38248400
73.	Other carrier catalysts	38151900
74.	Other polyesters	39079999
75.	Reaction initiators, accelerators not elsewhere specified	38159000
76.	Polyethylene with a primary shape specific gravity of less than 0.94	39011000
77.	Acrylonitrile	29261000
78.	Lubricants (without petroleum or oil extracted from bituminous minerals)	34039900
79.	Diagnostic or experimental formulation reagents, whether or not attached to backings, other than those of heading 32.02, 32.06	38220090
80.	Lubricant additives for oils not containing petroleum or extracted from bituminous minerals	38112900
81.	Primary Shaped Epoxy Resin	39073000
82.	Polyethylene Terephthalate Plate Film Foil Strips	39206200
83.	Other self-adhesive plastic plates, sheets, films and other materials	39199090
84.	Other plastic non-foam plastic sheets	39209990
85.	Other plastic products	39269090
86.	Other primary vinyl polymers	39019090
87.	Other ethylene-α-olefin copolymers, specific gravity less than 0.94	39014090
88.	Other primary shapes of acrylic polymers	39069090
89.	Other primary shapes of pure polyvinyl chloride	39041090
90.	Polysiloxane in primary shape	39100000
91.	Other primary polysulphides, polysulfones and other tariff numbers as set forth in note 3 to chapter 39 are not listed.	39119000
92.	Plastic plates, sheets, films, foils and strips, not elsewhere specified	39219090
93.	1,2-Dichloroethane (ISO)	29031500
94.	Halogenated butyl rubber sheets, strips	40023990
95.	Other heterocyclic compounds	29349990
96.	Adhesives based on other rubber or plastics	35069190
97.	Polyamide-6,6 slices	39081011
98.	Other primary-shaped polyethers	39072090
99.	Primary Shaped, Unplasticized Cellulose Acetate	39121100
100.	Aromatic polyamides and their copolymers	39089010
101.	Semi-aromatic polyamides and their copolymers	39089020
102.	Other polyamides of primary shape	39089090
103.	Other vinyl polymer plates, sheets, strips	39201090
104.	Non-ionic organic surfactants	34021300
105.	Lubricants (containing oil or oil extracted from bituminous minerals and less than 70% by weight)	34031900
106.	Aircraft and other aircraft with an empty weight of more than 15,000kg but not exceeding 45,000kg	88024010