Update 02/25/2019:
President Trump announced yesterday that the U.S. has been making progress in trade talks with China. Therefore, he has decided to delay the increase in tariffs originally set to have taken place on March 2.
Posted: 12/04/2018:
Over the weekend, a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping lead to an agreement to delay the previously expected Section 301 tariff increase from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods, including foods, cosmetics and thousands of other products (commonly referred to as “List 3”). List 3 tariffs had potentially been set to rise to 25% on January 1st; however, Trump and Xi agreed to a 90 day delay of the scheduled increase to allow time to resolve various issues underlying the imposition of the tariffs. While there has been conflicting information on this point, the most recent word from the White House is that the 90 days runs from December 1st, i.e. the U.S. and China have until March 1st to resolve their differences (although Trump and Xi may possibly agree to additional extensions of the time to reach agreement).
Companies impacted by the previous List 1 and 2 tariffs had the opportunity to request exclusions for their products; however, the U.S. Trade Representative has not announced a process to apply for exclusions for List 3 products. With the tariff remaining at 10% for now, it is unlikely that an exclusion process for List 3 tariffs will be established in the near future.
The regulatory consultants of FDAImports.com and our affiliated attorneys at Benjamin L. England & Associates can help affected companies evaluate their options, including contract review and product classification. Contact us at contact@fdaimports.com today.
