USTR Accepts Requests for Machinery Exclusions to Section 301 Duties
On October 15, 2024, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced it opened a process for interested persons to request that certain machinery from China used in U.S. domestic manufacturing be temporarily excluded from Section 301 duties.
The formal announcement is in the October 17, 2024 Federal Register. The USTR will consider exclusion requests on more than 300 HTSUS numbers at the 8-digit level for machinery in HTS chapters 84 and 85 and listed in the September 18, 2024 Federal Register notice in Annex E starting on page 76609 (page 29 of the linked pdf).
The web portal opened on October 15th and is at https://comments.ustr.gov. The portal closes on March 31, 2025.
After an exclusion request is posted, interested parties have 30 days to respond. Replies to responses are due the later of 15 days after the posting of a response, or 15 days after the closing of the 30-day response period. An approved exclusion becomes effective on the date of
publication of the exclusion determination in the Federal Register and will extend through May 31, 2025.
The exclusion request requirements are included in the October 17th Federal Register notice. They include a complete description of the machinery, whether it is subject to an antidumping or countervailing duty order, how it will be used in domestic manufacturing,
whether it is available from U.S. or third country sources, and whether the equipment is strategically important or related to “Made in China 2025” or other Chinese industrial programs.
As exclusions become available, if your machinery is eligible, be sure to advise your contact at the customs brokerage office so it can be declared in applicable entries.
Please reach out to your Schenker contact with any questions