New 25 Percent Tariff on Goods From China Takes Effect for Entries on or After 12:01 a.m. July 6
CBP will begin to apply a 25 percent Section 301 duty on goods found on a list of 818 8-digit tariff subheadings with country of origin China that are entered on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern time July 6, said Alex Amdur, CBP director-antidumping and countervailing duty policy and programs, on a call held July 5 to answer questions from the trade community. Based on country of origin, not country of export, the tariffs will be applied based on the date of entry, and goods with an entry date prior to July 6 will not be subject, including in cases in which the filers “elect” such an entry date.
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Any entries after the effective date that list one of the 818 8-digit subheadings and the country of origin of China will be rejected unless they are filed under new subheading 9903.88.01. Entry summaries and cargo releases filed separately will only see the entry summary rejected, said John Leonard, executive director-trade policy and programs, who also spoke on the call. The tariffs do not apply to goods with a country of origin of Hong Kong or Macau, he said.
Entries properly filed under Chapter 98 of the tariff schedule will be entirely exempt from the duties. “No part of the entry line is subject,” Leonard said, responding to a question about whether either portion of an article imported under Chapter 98 provisions for goods exported for repairs and alterations -- an underlying Chinese product or the value of any repairs or alterations performed in China -- is covered by the Section 301 tariffs. De minimis shipments otherwise duty free under Section 321 are also not covered by Section 301 duties, he said.
CBP will “in the very near future” be posting a frequently asked questions webpage to its website, Amdur said. In the meantime, questions should be directed to CBP’s trade remedy email box at traderemedy@cbp.dhs.gov. CBP officials on the call were unable to immediately answer several questions asked on the call about foreign-trade zone weekly entries and admission timelines, ACE reports available to assist with compliance, FTZ manufacturing operations and goods imported in sets. Asked whether CBP will provide some leeway to importers if they’re unable to get an answer and then find out from the upcoming FAQ that they filed something incorrectly, a CBP official said the agency will “look at the facts of the case on a case-by-case basis.”