USTR sets 90-day deadline for China tariff exclusion requests

WASHINGTON - Companies seeking product exclusions from tariffs on Chinese goods imported into the United States will get 90 days to file such requests, until Oct 9, the US Trade Representative's office said on Friday.

Just hours after it activated 25 percent tariffs on some $34 billion worth of Chinese imports, USTR said any exclusions granted would last a year and be retroactive to Friday.

"In making its determination on each request, USTR may consider whether a product is available from a source outside of China, whether the additional duties would cause severe economic harm to the requestor or other US interests and whether the particular product is strategically important or related to Chinese industrial programs, including 'Made in China 2025,'" USTR said.

Once a request is filed and posted on www.regulations.gov, public responses will be collected for 14 days, with an additional seven days for rebuttals.

"Because exclusions will be made on a product basis, a particular exclusion will apply to all imports of the product, regardless of whether the importer filed a request," USTR said.

The tariffs were activated on a list of 818 product categories, including cars, computer disk drives, pump and valve parts and light-emitting diodes under the Trump administration's "Section 301" investigation into China's intellectual property and technology transfer practices and high-technology industrial subsidy programs. 

Reuters