The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that starting on October 31, 2019, the exclusion process for Chinese imports subject to List 4 Section 301 tariffs of 15% will open and will conclude on January 31, 2020.

Details on the specifics of the application process are to be published in the Federal Register during the week of October 21, 2019, however, it is expected that the exclusion request process will be similar to the one instituted for List 3 and are to be submitted via USTR’s portal at exclusions.ustr.gov. To be eligible for an exclusion, an importer must demonstrate that (a) there is an insufficient supply from U.S. sources; (b) the additional duties have caused severe economic harm; and (c) the imported good is not identified on the “Made in China 2025” list. Exclusion requests are specific to products imported at the HTSUS 10-digit level and any request must clearly and succinctly identify the physical characteristics such that U.S. Customs can administer the exclusion.

USTR originally announced on August 6, 2019, that it would institute additional tariffs of 10% on approximately $250 billion dollars of imports from China identified on List 4A , but on August 26, 2019, it announced that the tariff rate would increase to 15% due to ongoing tensions and forestalled trade negotiations. Tariffs were originally delayed on certain goods and the additional 15% tariff goes into effect on December 15, 2019, for imports on List 4B. Importers should review both List 4A and 4B to identify and ensure that goods that it is importing are properly monitored.