The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) is accepting requests for temporary exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs on certain China-origin goods. To facilitate these requests, a docket has been opened to allow for requests to be made online. These exclusions are available only for specific machinery listed under 312 select HTS subheadings. The list of subheadings was published in the Federal Register and can be found under Annex E here. The list covers machines that are used in domestic manufacturing.
Requests for exclusions must be submitted by March 31, 2025, and must identify the product by description and by the applicable 10-digit HTS code. The requestor should provide data to support the exclusion request. The USTR will evaluate the requests on a case-by-case basis.
Requests will be posted on the USTR portal, and responses from interested parties are due within 30 days of the posting. Requestors and other interested parties may then reply to any responses within 15 days of its posting or anytime during the 30-day response period.
Once an exclusion is granted, it will be effective starting on the date the determination is published in the Federal Register and will have an expiration date of May 31, 2025. The docket can be found at the USTR Comments Portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/, and information on making a request has been published by the USTR. This information can be found in a PDF format here. The USTR also maintains a general webpage dedicated to the Section 301 tariffs at China Section 301-Tariff Actions and Exclusion Process (ustr.gov).
Best Regards,
Sam McClure, LCB
Director of Compliance & Customs Services