On October 15, 2024, the Office of the United States Representative ("USTR") announced a new process for interested parties to request temporary exclusion from Section 301 duties on certain Chinese-origin goods. The new exclusion process is limited, but key for stakeholders with a nexus to domestic manufacturing in the United States. Exclusions may apply for machinery used in domestic manufacturing and classified within a discreet list of over 300 subheadings under chapters 84 and 85 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, which can be found in a preceding Federal Register Notice issued by the agency on September 18, found here (see Annex E).
The portal to request exclusions will remain open until March 31, 2025, allowing a long window for importers, trade associations and other interested parties to participate in the process. Once a request for exclusion is posted to the USTR's online portal, interested parties will have an opportunity to respond, in support of or opposition to, the requested exclusion within 30 days. In turn, the requestor will have an opportunity to reply to any response within 15 days after posting (or 15 days after the closing of the 30-day response period). The USTR will accept exclusions on a rolling basis and periodically announce decisions. Encouraging quick action by interested party requestors – any granted exclusion will be effective beginning the date of the publication of the exclusion in the Federal Register and will extend through May 31, 2025. Key themes to highlight in each exclusion request include specificity in the equipment and its role in domestic manufacturing, whether the equipment can be (and has been) sourced from the United States or third countries, and whether the equipment could be strategically important to China.
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