BACKGROUND

On November 13, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published Federal Register (FR) Notice 85 FR 72748, announcing a technical amendment to amend a previously granted exclusion under Section 301 related to goods from China (Tranche 3 - $200B Action).

The technical amendment relates to the imposed additional duties announced in 83 FR 47974, as modified by 83 FR 49153 and 84 FR 20459, on Chinese goods with an annual trade value of approximately $200 billion.  The USTR has granted a technical amendment to amend a previously granted exclusion under product exclusion round 9903.88.46, announced in 85 FR 27489, dated May 8, 2020. 

The technical amendment will apply as of September 24, 2018, and will extend through August 7, 2020. 

The functionality for the acceptance of the technical amendment will be available in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) as of 7 am eastern standard time, November 17, 2020.

GUIDANCE

Instructions for importers, brokers, and filers on submitting entries to CBP containing granted exclusions by the USTR from the Section 301 measures are set out below:

• Per 85 FR 72748, U.S. note 20(yy)(75) under product exclusion round 9903.88.46 is amended by deleting “(described in statistical reporting number 8427.90.0090)” and inserting “(described in statistical reporting number 8427.90.0000 prior to July 1, 2019; described in statistical reporting number 8427.90.0090 effective July 1, 2019)” in lieu thereof.
• Importers shall not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when HTS 9903.88.46 is submitted.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Imports which have been granted a product exclusion from the Section 301 measures, and which are not subject to the Section 301 duties, are not covered by the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) provisions of the Section 301 Federal Register notices, but instead are subject to the FTZ provisions in 19 CFR part 146.

To request a refund of Section 301 duties paid on previous imports of products granted duty exclusions by the USTR, importers may file a Post Summary Correction (PSC) if within the PSC filing timeframe. If the entry is beyond the PSC filing timeframe, importers may protest the liquidation if within the protest filing timeframe. The latest guidance on the process for submitting retroactive claims for product exclusions to CBP is found in CSMS 42566154.

In situations where an importer has requested a product exclusion and the request is pending with the USTR, importers or their licensed representative may submit a request to extend the liquidation of impacted unliquidated entry summaries to CBP.

Reminder: importers, brokers, and/or filers should refer to CSMS 39587858 (Entry Summary Order of Reporting for Multiple HTS when 98 or 99 HTS are required) for guidance when filing an entry summary in which a heading or subheading in Chapter 99 is claimed on imported merchandise.

For ease of reference, a summary of Section 301 duties and product exclusion notifications is attached.

Questions from the importing community concerning ACE entry rejections involving product exclusions should be referred to their CBP Client Representative. Questions related to Section 301 entry-filing requirements, please refer to CSMS message #42203908 (Information on Trade Remedy Questions and Resources) https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/283fb04.

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