This week, President Biden has directed the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") to take further action against Chinese unfair trading practices following the release of the statutory four-year review of Section 301 tariffs against the People's Republic of China ("PRC"). Per Biden's direction, Ambassador Katherine Tai announced that she will be proposing modifications to existing China tariffs under Section 301, while also maintaining existing tariffs on certain goods. Among the proposed modifications to Section 301 tariffs are the addition of tariffs for certain chemicals and machinery, as well as increases to certain products as seen in the chart below. The proposed tariff additions and modifications would cover an additional $18 billion worth of goods, bringing the total amount of China-origin goods covered by Section 301 to around $370 billion.
| Product | Action | Goes into effect: |
| Battery parts (non-lithium-ion batteries) | Increase rate to 25% | 2024 |
| Electric vehicles | Increase rate to 100% | 2024 |
| Facemasks | Increase rate to 25% | 2024 |
| Lithium-ion electrical vehicle batteries | Increase rate to 25% | 2024 |
| Lithium-ion non-electrical vehicle batteries | Increase rate to 25% | 2026 |
| Medical gloves | Increase rate to 25% | 2026 |
| Natural graphite | Increase rate to 25% | 2026 |
| Other critical minerals | Increase rate to 25% | 2024 |
| Permanent magnets | Increase rate to 25% | 2026 |
| Semiconductors | Increase rate to 50% | 2025 |
| Ship to shore cranes | Increase rate to 25% | 2024 |
| Solar cells (whether or not assembled into modules) | Increase rate to 50% | 2024 |
| Steel and aluminum products | Increase rate to 25% | 2024 |
| Syringes and needles | Increase rate to 50% | 2024 |
In addition to these new tariffs, the USTR report recommends the establishment of an exclusion process for certain products, such as manufacturing equipment—particularly solar manufacturing equipment—though it fails to address exclusions currently in place for certain medical and non-medical products, which are set to expire at the end of May.
The USTR will issue a Federal Register notice next week to announce procedures for interested parties to comment on the proposed modifications, as well as to request information concerning the new exclusion process for machinery used in domestic manufacturing.
Finally, the report advocates for more funding to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol ("CBP") to enhance the agency's enforcement capacity with regard to Section 301 actions.
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