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 |
