Back in March, the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") released a list of products from China that may be hit with 25 percent duties as a result of the "Section 301" investigation. The USTR's announcement can be found
here and here is our
Alert from that announcement.
USTR allowed for comments to be filed by May 11. Over 2,700 comments were filed, the vast majority requesting that items be excluded or removed from the list. In addition to the many requests for exclusion, certain parties filed comments recommending that particular products be
added to the list.
Among those comments was a request filed by the United Steelworkers Union to add
the Harmonized Tariff ("HTS")
Code 9403.2000 "furniture (other than seats) of metal, other that used in offices" on the list of products to be subject to a 25% duty. This could include a wide variety of household metal furniture such as beds, cocktail tables, shelving and
outdoor furniture. The full request can be found
here
(it also requests to add cartons and packing material). In addition, HNI Corporation requested that USTR add
adjustable office chairs
to the list.
Not just finished furniture items, but also certain key raw materials to furniture production have been targeted. In addition to a broad range of floor coverings, Mohawk Industries filed a request to add a number of raw materials to the list, including items under 4410 and 4411 such as particle board, oriented strand board and fiberboard. That full request can be found
here.
Other wood inputs that parties requested be added to the list
include softwood plywood and certain wood veneers.
Moreover, multiple requests like
this one
were filed to cover certain metal furniture parts
.
This week USTR is holding a three-day hearing on the issue of what products should or should not be subject to the 25% duty.
We have identified these products as of interest to our clients, but we make no claim that this is a comprehensive list. Filings that were made by the May 11th deadline are still being made public now and the list of comments grows daily. If there is any particular HTS you are concerned about, please let us know or you can search the
docket.
Should you wish to oppose any of these requests, USTR is accepting comments until May 22.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
For more information, please contact:
