On Friday, August 27, 2021, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published a notice in the Federal Register, requesting comments on whether to extend exclusions from Section 301 tariffs as to specific goods needed for COVID-19 relief.

Since July of 2018, the United States has imposed additional duties ranging from 7.5% - 25% on most Chinese-origin goods. On December 29, 2020, USTR announced 99 product-specific exclusions from these additional duties for goods needed to address COVID-19. The product exclusions covered goods such as disposable face masks, surgical gloves, hand sanitizer, and X-ray equipment. In March of 2021, USTR announced that it was extending the 99 exclusions through September 30, 2021.

USTR’s new request asks for commenters’ input on whether any of the 99 exclusions should be further extended. USTR is collecting comments through its agency-specific commenting portal. Commenters are asked to identify the specific exclusion for which they support or oppose extension, and to provide the basis for their support or opposition.

A complete list of the relevant exclusions can be found at Annexes A-D of USTR’s December 29, 2020 notice.