The Biden administration plans to reinstate exemptions from Trump-era tariffs on about two-thirds of Chinese products that were previously granted waivers, most of which expired by the end of 2020.
The tariff exclusions, related to products that faced duties under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, are retroactive to Oct. 12, 2021 and will run through Dec. 31 of this year, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The office had sought public comment late last year on whether to reinstate tariff exclusions on 549 types of products from China. USTR is reinstating the exclusions for 352 of those items, according to the statement.
The reinstated exclusions include a wide variety of manufacturing components and consumer goods, ranging from television-screen parts to backpacks, bicycles and pillows.
The world’s two largest economies have fought a trade war since 2018. The U.S. imposed tariffs on more than $300 billion in imports from China, ranging from footwear and clothing to electronics and bicycles and even pet food, after an investigation that concluded China stole intellectual property from American companies and forced them to transfer of technology.
Lawmakers already complained last month that the scope of the exclusions being considered was too narrow. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has asked that the duty exclusions be reinstated and the scope of the exemption process broadened. The Trump administration had originally granted more than 2,200 exclusions.
The main considerations in whether to reinstate the exclusions were whether a product or comparable product was available from sources in the U.S. or in third countries, and changes in the global supply chain since 2018. They also included efforts by importers or U.S. purchasers to source the product from the U.S. or third countries, and domestic U.S. capacity to produce the product.
USTR also considered the impact on U.S. interests, including small businesses, employment, manufacturing output and supply chains, as well as the impact on the U.S. goal of getting China to eliminate its unfair trade practices.
