USTR Considering Additional Section 301
Tariffs for Certain EU Goods

July 15, 2020

The USTR recently published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that modifications to the list of Section 301 tariffs are being considered for goods imported from certain current and former European Union (EU) member States. In addition to adding more goods to the list of products subject to Section 301 tariffs, the USTR is considering increasing the current tariffs up to 100% of the declared value of the imported goods.

The review is being taken as part of the Section 301 investigation involving the enforcement of U.S. World Trade Organization (WTO) rights in the large Civil Aircraft dispute. Currently, the Section 301 tariffs are at 25% for a wide variety of EU goods, including apparel, food stuffs, tools, wines and liquors, and 15% on new aircraft. These tariffs were initially imposed on October 18, 2019 in response to a WTO ruling that the U.S. may levy up to $7.5 billion annually in countermeasures for EU subsidies provided to aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

The USTR is soliciting comments regarding 3 lists of products included in Annexes 1-3 to the Federal Register notice.

• Annex 1 lists the products currently subject to the Section 301 tariff, and the USTR requests comments regarding whether a product should continue to be subject to the Section 301 tariff and, if so, should the tariff be increased to up to 100% of the declared value.
• Annex 2 lists products originally published in the April and July 2019 notices in this investigation but not currently subject to the tariff. The USTR requests comments on whether to make these products subject to the Section 301 duties and if so at what amount up to 100% of the declared value.
• Annex 3 is a new list of products being considered for the imposition of additional duties. Again, the USTR requests comments regarding whether additional duties should be imposed and if so at what amount up to 100% of the declared value.

See the Federal Register notice for the complete Annex 1, 2 and 3 lists.

Comments are due by July 26, 2020 and should include whether imposition of additional duties under Section 301 would be appropriate to enforce U.S. WTO rights and whether maintaining or imposing additional duties would cause disproportionate harm to U.S. interests, including small or medium-size businesses and consumers.

If you have questions about these or other Customs matters, contact George R. Tuttle, III at geo@tuttlelaw.com or at 415-254-5986.

The information in this article is general in nature and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship with respect to any event or occurrence and may not be considered as such.

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