North American Trade & Tariff Insights

Tariffs or duties are taxes assessed on imports of foreign goods, paid by the importer to the U.S. government, and collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Current U.S. tariff rates may be found in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to regulate foreign commerce and therefore impose tariffs, but, through various trade laws, Congress has delegated authority to the president to modify tariffs and other trade restrictions under certain circumstances.¹

Tariffs – A tax on imports of foreign goods paid by the importer. Ad valorem tariffs are assessed as a percentage of the value of the import (e.g., a tax of 25% on the value of an imported truck). Specific tariffs are assessed at a fixed rate based on the quantity of the import (e.g. 7.7% per kilogram of imported almonds), and are most common on agricultural imports.

Quotas – A restriction on the total allowable amount of imports based either on the quantity or value of goods imported. Quotas are in place on a limited number of U.S. imports, mostly agricultural commodities, in part due to past trade agreements to remove and prohibit them.

Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ) –TRQs involve a two-tiered tariff scheme in which the tariff rate changes depending on the level of imports. Below a specific value or quantity of imports, a lower tariff rate applies. Once this threshold is reached, all additional imports face a higher, sometimes prohibitive, tariff rate.

Yes! CBP does pay interest from the date the original money was deposited. The current interest rates are published in the Federal Register on a quarterly basis. Review the most recent Federal Register Notice for the latest rates.

U.S. CBP assesses and collects duties on U.S. imports, including the additional duties imposed as a result of the president’s tariff actions. As of April 27, 2022 U.S. CBP has reported these duty assessments.

Yes. Some United States’ trading partners subject to the additional United States import restrictions have taken or announced proposed retaliations against each of the three United States actions. The International Trade Administration published an article regarding retaliatory tariffs implemented by United States’ trading partners.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to suspend trade agreement concessions or impose import restrictions if it determines a U.S. trading partner is violating trade agreement commitments or engaging in discriminatory or unreasonable practices that burden or restrict U.S. commerce.

Background Report: Congressional Research Service – Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974

Exclusions extended through the end of the year. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced it would further extend the 352 Section 301 China duty exclusions—in addition to 77 COVID-19-related China duty exclusions—through December 2023. Both sets of exclusions were set to expire at the end of September 2023. According to the Federal Register Notice, the extension is “to provide a transition period for the expiring exclusions and to allow for further consideration under the four-year review.”

Certain reinstated Section 301 duty exclusions were extended. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced it is extending the 352 previously reinstated product exclusions, which were retroactively made available to October 12, 2021. Originally scheduled to expire December 31, 2022, the exclusions will now be extended through September 30, 2023. The extension is effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on January 1, 2023, and before 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on September 30, 2023.

What this means for your business: Uncover potential duty refunds using our U.S. Tariff Search Tool. Instantly search by Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) and review the language within the “USTR Exclusion Extension Potential” section to determine your eligibility for retroactive duty recovery and for participation on a go-forward basis, through September 30, 2023.

A statutory review of all Section 301 tranches was initiated. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced it would commence its statutory review of all active Section 301 tranches leading up to the four-year anniversary of the Section 301 China tariff actions. Accordingly, representatives of domestic industries were invited to submit their requests for continuation using the USTR’s comment portal.

In September 2022, the USTR announced it will keep the tariff actions in place and conduct a review due to requests for continuation received during the comment period and conduct a review of the actions. The USTR is seeking public comments from the trade community "to consider the effectiveness of the actions in achieving the objectives of the investigation, other actions that could be taken, and the effects of the actions on the United States economy, including consumers."

China

France – Digital service tax issue

Other Nations Digital service tax issues

Boeing-Airbus subsidy dispute

Enter the product’s harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) classification on the USTR website. In addition, you can refer to our U.S. tariff search tool to quickly search both the Section 301 tariff lists, but also identify if there are any exclusion opportunities. Talk to your Trusted Advisor^® expert at C.H. Robinson to learn more.

The time window to submit new exclusion requests is now closed. While the USTR approved, on average, 35% of requests under the first two actions, the approval rates under the third and fourth actions were 5% and 7%, respectively.³ Be sure to check in with your trusted trade advisors to see if new comment periods open.

Be aware the USTR has completed its evaluation for the potential extension of 549 specific product exclusions granted from Lists 1, 2, 3, and 4. Accordingly, on March 23, 2022, of the 549 specific product exclusions, the USTR reinstated 352 previously expired Section 301 China duty exclusions, as published in the accompanying Federal Register notice, which were retroactively made available to October 12, 2021. Originally scheduled to expire December 31, 2022, the exclusions will now be extended through September 30, 2023.

As noted in CSMS Message 18-000419, Section 301 duties are eligible for duty drawback. Drawback is the refund of certain duties, internal revenue taxes, and certain fees collected upon the importation of goods. Such refunds are only allowed upon the exportation or destruction of goods under U.S. Customs and Border Protection supervision.

No, not right now. Goods properly entered under Section 321 are not subject to Section 301 duties. Please note that a formal entry is required if a shipment contains merchandise subject to AD/CVD. Goods subject to AD/CVD do not qualify for Section 321.

Something to keep an eye on: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) submitted a proposal in early September 2020 to the Office of Management and Budget that would eliminate the $800 de minimis exemption for goods subject to Section 301 tariffs. Additionally, in January 2022, the Import Security and Fairness Act was introduced to address Section 321 shipment activity. Significant changes proposed within this legislation are as follows:

• Reverses Congress’s decision to raise the threshold to $800 from the previous threshold of $200
• Prohibits goods from countries that are both non-market economies and on the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) Watch List from using de minimis benefits
• Prohibits goods subject to enforcement actions (e.g., Section 301 tariff measures) from using the program

Remember, Section 321, 19 USC 1321 is the statute that describes de minimis. De minimis provides admission of articles free of duty and of any tax imposed on, or by reason of importation, but the aggregate fair retail value in the country of shipment of articles imported by one person on one day and exempted from the payment of duty shall not exceed $800. The de minimis threshold was previously $200 but increased with the passage of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA).

Yes. You have the opportunity to potentially recover duties paid on previous entry activity. Your customs broker, trade attorney, or trade consultant can submit a refund request via Post Summary Correction (PSC) or Protest as long as the entry has not exceeded the liquidation date plus 180-day time period (roughly 480 days from the original entry date). Remember, your company doesn’t have to be the one that requested the exclusion in the first place. You qualify as long as your product meets the specific description of the exclusion granted by the USTR.

The USTR announced on March 20, 2020, that, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the agency had been working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “to ensure that critical medicines and other essential medical products were not subject to additional Section 301 tariffs.” Consequently, the United States had not imposed tariffs on certain critical products, such as ventilators, oxygen masks, and nebulizers.

The USTR has since reviewed requests for exclusions on medical care products, resulting in exclusions granted on basic medical supplies, including gloves, soaps, face masks, surgical drapes, and hospital gowns. Since March 2020, the USTR has exempted certain medical products from Section 301 tariffs in several rounds of exclusions.³

Duties are due on goods that are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the effective date of the provisional tariffs. For entries covered by an entry for immediate transportation, and with a country of origin of China, and a Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification covered by Annex A to the FRN, such entries shall be subject to the duty rates in effect when the immediate transportation entry was accepted at the port of original importation, pursuant to 19 CFR 141.69 (b), which states:

Merchandise which is not subject to a quantitative or tariff-rate quota and which is covered by an entry for immediate transportation made at the port of original importation, if entered for consumption at the port designated by the consignee or his agent in such transportation entry without having been taken into custody by the port director for general order under section 490, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1490), shall be subject to the rates in effect when the immediate transportation entry was accepted at the port of original importation.

No. Additional duties imposed by the Section 301 remedy only apply to articles that are products of the People’s Republic of China (ISO Country Code CN). Imported goods that are legitimately the product of Hong Kong (HK) or Macau (MO) are not subject to the additional Section 301 duties. Please note that Section 301 duties are based on country of origin, not country of export.²

Yes. Basic changes/processes such as packaging, cleaning, and sorting would not change the country of origin to be declared in most cases. The origin would still be China and therefore the Section 301 duties would still apply.

A Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the president to adjust imports if the Department of Commerce finds certain products are imported in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair U.S. national security.

Background Report: Congressional Research Service – Section 232 Investigations: Overview and Issues for Congress

Aluminum and derivative products

Steel and derivative products

Motor vehicle and vehicle parts

Uranium

A Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the president to impose temporary duties and other trade measures if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines a surge in imports is a substantial cause or threat of serious injury to a U.S. industry.

Background Report: Congressional Research Service – Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 – August 2018

Solar cells

Solar modules

Large residential washers

Large residential washer parts