Trade Round-Up: New Year’s Edition

Jan 7, 2020 RV Industry Association Staff

USTR ANNOUNCES SEVENTH ROUND OF LIST 3 EXCLUSIONS

On January 6, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced another round of exclusions for products on List 3, which covers $200 billion in Chinese products. This is the seventh round of exclusions and includes exclusions for two entire 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings and 66 specially prepared product descriptions.

Of note, this round of exclusions includes “decorative cast aluminum endcaps, of a kind used with structural elements of roof-mounted patio awnings for recreational vehicles (RVs), each measuring not more than 19 cm in length, not more than 11.5 cm in width and not more than 3 cm in thickness, weighing not more than 0.15 kg each (described in statistical reporting number 7610.90.0080).”

This list also includes a wide range of products, including woven fabrics, steel and aluminum products, and many furniture components. We encourage member companies to review the list to see if they can expect any relief due to this round of exclusions.

These exclusions apply retroactively for any goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse on or after September 24, 2018 and will be effective until USTR’s expiration date of August 7, 2020. Additionally, exclusions are not importer-specific and apply to anyone importing the product.

USTR CONSIDERING ADDITIONAL EXCLUSION EXTENSIONS ON LIST 1 PRODUCTS

USTR has announced that it will consider possible extensions of List 1 product exclusions granted on March 25, 2019, which are set to expire on March 25, 2020. This round includes three entire ten-digit HTS subheadings and 30 specially prepared product descriptions determined by USTR. Any exclusion extensions will apply for up to an additional 12 months. In December, USTR extended only six of 31 product exclusions granted on December 28, 2018.

The comment period opens on January 15, 2020 and closes on February 15, 2020. We encourage member companies to comment if they use any of the items on that list or reach out to the Association to comment on their behalf.

For more information or if you would like the RV Industry Association to file comments, please contact Samantha Rocci at srocci@rvia.org.