On Friday, Sept. 13, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) finalized tariff actions stemming from those proposed in May following publication findings of its statutory Four-Year Review of Section 301 actions on China, according to a News & Insights report from the RV Industry Association (RVIA).
The simultaneously announced USTR decision follows the long-awaited conclusion of the Statutory Four-Year Review of Section 301 China actions they initiated in May 2022 and included several public comment periods. The key conclusion of these concurrent actions is that Section 301 China tariffs will remain in place for the near future.
USTR also decided to NOT exempt l-ion batteries (HTS 8507.60.0020) from a tariff increase slated for 2026 following hundreds of comments submitted explain their vast use by all Americans across the county. Other key actions include:
- Increasing Section 301 tariffs on China-origin products in certain strategic sectors including electric vehicles (EV), EV batteries, solar cells and wafers, face masks, needles and syringes, critical minerals and steel and aluminum beginning Friday, Sept. 27, followed by increases on other products, as detailed in the announcement by HTS code, in 2025 and 2026 on Jan. 1 of the corresponding year.
- Exempting Ship-to-Shore cranes ordered before May 14, and enteral syringes from increased tariffs;
- Modifying proposed exclusions for certain solar manufacturing equipment.
- Stating intent to propose shortly through a separate announcement and request for public comment, tariff increases on certain tungsten, wafers, and polysilicon products;
- Publicizing the final list of eligible HTS codes for possible exclusion in a forthcoming, separately announced product exclusion process narrowly focused on machinery used for domestic manufacturing which includes the originally proposed 312 subheadings (found HERE) under Chapters 84 and 85, and adds the 5 additional subheadings for machinery used to physically alter goods in the manufacturing process listed below:
- 8421.21.00 (Machinery and apparatus for filtering or purifying water)
- 8421.29.00 (Filtering or purifying machinery and apparatus for liquids, nesoi);
- 8421.39.01 (Filtering or purifying machinery and apparatus for gases, other than intake air filters or catalytic conv. for internal combustion engines);
- 8428.70.00 (Industrial robots); and.
- 8443.19.30 (Printing machinery, nesoi).
Together, the action on 301 tariffs and de minimis show that both Congress and the Administration agree on both the need to strengthen protective measures to combat China and urgent need for significant reform of de minimis. For more information, please contact Samantha Rocci, director of federal affairs, at srocci@rvia.org.