On May 14th, President Biden directed the US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, to increase tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on $18 billion of imports from China.
In response to this direction, the USTR has proposed the following increases:
| Battery parts (non-lithium-ion batteries) | Increase rate to 25% in 2024 |
| Electric vehicles | Increase rate to 100% in 2024 |
| Facemasks | Increase rate to 25% in 2024 |
| Lithium-ion electrical vehicle batteries | Increase rate to 25% in 2024 |
| Lithium-ion non-electrical vehicle batteries | Increase rate to 25% in 2026 |
| Medical gloves | Increase rate to 25% in 2026 |
| Natural graphite | Increase rate to 25% in 2026 |
| Other critical minerals | Increase rate to 25% in 2024 |
| Permanent magnets | Increase rate to 25% in 2026 |
| Semiconductors | Increase rate to 50% in 2025 |
| Ship to shore cranes | Increase rate to 25% in 2024 |
| Solar cells (whether or not assembled into modules) | Increase rate to 50% in 2024 |
| Steel and aluminum products | Increase rate to 25% in 2024 |
| Syringes and needles | Increase rate to 50% in 2024 |
Included in the proposal is the recommendation for establishing an exclusion process for machinery used in domestic manufacturing and the allocation of additional funding for US Customs and Border Protection for greater enforcement of Section 301 actions.
The USTR is now soliciting comments about theses proposed amendments. Details of their solicitation can be found here. Comments can be submitted online at https://comments.ustr.gov.
Further information can be found on the fact sheet provided by the White House and the press release issued by the USTR. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Willson International U.S. Regulatory Team at transitionteamus@willsonintl.com.