The purpose of this message is to provide guidance regarding the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) technical amendment allowing certain Section 301 exclusions to be applied to entries subject to Section 301 duties under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 9903.88.09, and covered by Section 301 China Tranche 3 - $200 Billion Action.

BACKGROUND

On May 15, 2019, the USTR published Federal Register (FR) notice 84 FR 21892, providing that products of China covered by the Tranche 3 - $200 Billion Action that entered the U.S. between May 10, 2019 and June 1, 2019 were subject to additional duties of 10 percent under HTS 9903.88.09.  On June 10, 2019, the USTR published FR notice 84 FR 26930, extending the June 1, 2019 deadline to June 15, 2019.

On April 26, 2021, the USTR published FR notice 86 FR 22092, making a technical amendment allowing products covered by product exclusion rounds 9903.88.13, 9903.88.18, 9903.88.33, 9903.88.34, 9903.88.35, 9903.88.37, 9903.88.38, 9903.88.40, 9903.88.41, 9903.88.43, 9903.88.45, 9903.88.46, and 9903.88.48 to be applied to goods that entered the U.S. between May 10, 2019 and June 15, 2019 subject to HTS 9903.88.09.  These exclusion rounds are retroactive to September 24, 2018. 

The affected exclusions are available for any product that meets the description as set out in the Annexes to FR notices 84 FR 38717, 84 FR 49591, 84 FR 57803, 84 FR 61674, 84 FR 65882, 84 FR 69012, 85 FR 549, 85 FR 6674, 85 FR 9921, 85 FR 15015, 85 FR 17158, 85 FR 23122, 85 FR 27489, and 85 FR 32094, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request.  Further, the scope of each exclusion is governed by the scope of the 10-digit HTS headings and product descriptions provided in these notices, not by the product descriptions set out in any particular request for exclusion. 

The functionality for the acceptance of the product exclusions will be available in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) as of 7 am eastern standard time, April 26, 2021.

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 the Annex to 86 FR 22092, articles from China, as provided for in U.S. notes 20(p), 20(w), 20(ll), 20(mm), 20(nn), 20(oo), 20(pp), 20(qq), 20(ss), 20(tt), 20(vv), 20(xx), 20(yy), and 20(aaa) to this subchapter, will be covered by the exclusions granted by the USTR for imported merchandise that is subject to the exclusion and for which the exclusion is claimed.
• Importers shall not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when HTS exclusions 9903.88.13, 9903.88.18, 9903.88.33, 9903.88.34, 9903.88.35, 9903.88.36, 9903.88.37, 9903.88.38, 9903.88.40, 9903.88.41, 9903.88.43, 9903.88.45, 9903.88.46 and 9903.88.48 are 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.  This chart has been updated to include the dates that each Section 301 exclusion is currently scheduled to terminate.

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.

Related Messages: 46607637, 45318223,  44450418, 44451479, 44243021, 44198137, 44016918, 43600625, 43534641, 43400564, 43401456, 43134617, 43044185, 43043838, 42839255, 42837261, 42693720, 42566220, 42355914, 42203908, 42219187, 42181055, 42180527, 42048963, 41955151, 42049352, 48134749, 40003027, 40002982, 40001360, 19-000052, 41702837, 41179115, 41052773, 41538917, 40984510, 40901928, 49710742, 40330403, 40208881, 40969690, 40564257, 39587690, 39587858, 39473933, 39268267, 39169565, 38840764, 19-000332, 19-000260, 19-000244, 19-000238, 19-000236, 19-000212