Trade War Update: Tranche 3 Exclusion Request Details
21 June 2019 The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will begin taking requests for exclusions for Tranche 3 products imported from China on June 30, and has launched a web portal to do so. This portal replaces the exclusion process for the first and second tranches, where users were required to fill out a form on the Regulations.gov website.
USTR says it will accept exclusion requests until Sept. 30, 2019, and responses are due 14 days after the exclusion request in question is posted to the portal for public comment.
If granted, product exclusions will be effective for one year from the date that each exclusion is published in the Federal Register, and will be retroactive to Sept. 24, 2018.
“You must submit all requests, responses to requests, and replies to responses through the online portal: http://exclusions.USTR.gov,” which opens at noon EDT on June 30, 2019, USTR said.
USTR detailed the procedure as follows:
Each requester has to provide contact information, including the full legal name of the organization making the request, whether the requester is a third party (law firm, trade association, or customs broker)submitting on behalf of an organization or industry, and the primary point of contact (requester and/or third party submitter). The requester may report whether the requester’s business satisfies the Small Business Administration’s size standard for a small business, which are identified by North American Industry Classification Systems Codes and are found in 13 CFR 121.201.
With regard to product identification, any request for exclusion must include the following information:
- The 10-digit subheading of the HTSUS applicable to the particular product requested for exclusion. If no 10-digit subheading is available (i.e. the 8-digit subheading does not contain breakouts at the 10-digit level), requesters should use the 8-digit subheading and add “00”. Different models classified under different 8-digit or 10-digit subheadings are considered different products and require separate exclusion requests.
- Product name and a detailed description of the product. A detailed description of the product includes, but is not limited to, its physical characteristics (e.g., dimensions, weight, material composition, etc.). Requesters may submit a range of comparable goods within the product definition set out in an exclusion request. Thus, a product request may include two or more goods with similar product characteristics or attributes. Goods with different SKUs, model numbers, or sizes are not necessarily different products.
- The products function, application (whether the product is designed to function in or with a particular machine or other device), principal use, and any unique physical features that distinguish it from other products within the covered 8-digit HTSUS subheading. Requesters may submit attachments that help distinguish the product (e.g.,CBP rulings, photos and specification sheets, and previous import documentation). Documents submitted to support a requester’s product description must be made available for public inspection and contain no BCI. USTR will not consider requests that identify the product using criteria that cannot be made available for public inspection.
See more details in the full notice posted on the Federal Register.
See the list of Tranche 3 products, courtesy of Jim DeLisi, President of Fanwood Chemical Inc.
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