The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced its decision to consider the possible extension of certain exclusions granted for products on List 1 of the Section 301 trade action against China. This announcement covers products that were granted an exclusion in October and December of 2019 and February of 2020. Any List 1 exclusions that are extended by USTR as announced today will remain in place for up to an additional 12 months, though recently USTR has only been granting extensions through December 31, 2020.
Product exclusions eligible for extension during the new comment period include 97 individual exclusions that cover a variety of commodities including paper supplies, steel and aluminum products, and various electronics. A complete list of these exclusions is contained in three separate exclusion announcements published on Oct. 2, 2019, Dec. 17, 2019 and Feb. 11, 2020. All of these exclusions are set to expire on Oct. 2, 2020.
The comment docket opened August 1, 2020, and the deadline for submission of comments is Aug. 31, 2020. Members can file comments using USTR’s online portal. No exclusions have been extended by USTR in the absence of comments in support of extension. Therefore, USTR recommends submitting comments in support of the extension of any product exclusions benefitting businesses or their suppliers.
For more information or to request that the RV Industry Association file comments on a business’s behalf, please contact Samantha Rocci at srocci@rvia.org.