Modifications to the Federal Register for U.S.-China Trade: Fall 2024 Update

From time to time, we at MoreThanShipping.com like to update our readers on the latest with tariffs, particularly in the area of U.S.-China trade due to high volume.

Below is an overview of the latest modifications made to Section 301 under the four-year review of actions taken in the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.

On September 18, 2024, the United States Trade Representative announced it would adjust the actions being taken in the Section 301 investigation pursuant to the four-year review of actions taken in the Section 301 investigation. Below is some general information on tariff increases:

• Increasing section 301 duties on 382 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings and 7 statistical reporting numbers of the HTSUS under fourteen product groups
• HTSUS modifications to impose additional duties, to increase rates of additional duties, and to exclude certain solar manufacturing equipment listed
• Requiring importer certification for ship-to-shore cranes entering under exclusion (see Annex D).

Here is a short list of commodities that falls under this update:

• Battery Parts (Non-lithium-ion Batteries)
• Electric Vehicles
• Facemasks
• Lithium-ion Electrical Vehicle Batteries
• Lithium-ion Non-electrical Vehicle Batteries
• Medical Gloves
• Natural Graphite
• Other Critical Minerals
• Permanent Magnets
• Semiconductors
• Ship-to-Shore Cranes
• Solar Cells (whether or not assembled into modules)
• Steel and Aluminum Products
• Syringes and Needles

Per the Federal Register: “Tariff increases under (89 FR 76581) in 2024 are relevant with respect to products entered on or after September 27, 2024. For tariff increases in 2025 and 2026 are relevant with respect to products entered on or after January 1 of the corresponding year.”

Tariff modifications effective in 2024:

The below tariff modifications appear in the latest update of the Federal Register and went into effect a few weeks ago:

“Effective with respect to entries on or after September 27, 2024, articles the product of China, as provided for in subdivision (b) of U.S. note 31 to this subchapter, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.91.01, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem duty.”

“Effective with respect to entries on or after September 27, 2024, articles the product of China, as provided for in subdivision (c) of U.S. note 31 to this subchapter, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.91.02, subject to an additional 50 percent ad valorem rate of duty.”

“Effective with respect to entries on or after September 27, 2024, except for enteral syringes as provided in heading 9903.91.10, articles the product of China, as provided for in subdivision (d) of U.S. note 31 to this subchapter, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.91.03, subject to an additional 100 percent ad valorem rate of duty.”

“Effective with respect to entries on or after September 27, 2024, certain cranes, articles the product of China, provided for in subheading 8426.19.00, other than those described in HTSUS 9903.91.09, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.92.10, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty.”

“Any other cranes not covered by the paragraph above and provided for in subheading 8426.19.00 are not covered the Section 301 duties but should be entered under HTS 9903.92.80.”

Tariff modifications effective in 2025:

The below tariff modifications appear in the latest update of the Federal Register and are scheduled to go into effect as of the new year (January 1, 2025):

“Effective with respect to entries on or after January 1, 2025, and before January 1, 2026, articles the product of China, as provided for in subdivision (e) of U.S. note 31 to this subchapter, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.91.04, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty.”

“Effective with respect to entries on or after January 1, 2025, articles the product of China, as provided for in subdivision (f) of U.S. note 31 to this subchapter, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.91.05, subject to an additional 50 percent ad valorem rate of duty.”

Tariff modifications effective in 2026:

The below tariff modifications appear in the latest update of the Federal Register and are scheduled to go into effect at the beginning of 2026 (January 1, 2026):

“Effective with respect to entries on or after January 1, 2026, articles the product of China, as provided for in subdivision (g) of U.S. note 31 to this subchapter, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.91.06, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty.”

“Effective with respect to entries on or after January 1, 2026, articles the product of China, as provided for in subdivision (h) of U.S. note 31 to this subchapter, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.91.07, subject to an additional 50 percent ad valorem rate of duty.”

“Effective with respect to entries on or after January 1, 2026, articles the product of China, as provided for in subdivision (i) of U.S. note 31 to this subchapter, should be entered under HTSUS 9903.91.08, subject to an additional 100 percent ad valorem rate of duty.”

EXCLUSIONS

The U.S. Trade Representative updated the Federal Register to include new instructions for importers, brokers, and filers, in the matter of submitting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) entries containing Section 301 exclusions per 89 FR 76581. The instructions are below, per the Federal Register:

“Effective with respect to entries on or after September 27, 2024, and before January 1, 2026, entries of enteral syringes, articles the product of China, as described in statistical reporting number 9018.31.0080 are covered by exclusion 9903.91.10.”

“Effective with respect to entries on or after January 1, 2024, and before June 1, 2025, articles the product of China, solar manufacturing equipment as provided in U.S. note 20(www) to this subchapter, are covered by exclusion 9903.88.70.”

“Effective with respect to entries on or after September 27, 2024, articles the product of China, notwithstanding subheading 9903.92.10, as described in statistical reporting number 8426.19.00 effective with respect to entries of ship-to-shore gantry cranes that are fulfilling in whole or in part an executed contract for sale dated prior to May 14, 2024, are covered by exclusion 9903.91.09.”

“Effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on or after September 27, 2024, and prior to May 14, 2026, importers shall submit 9903.91.09 for the Section 301 exclusion when the following requirements below are met when entering HTSUS 8426.19.00:

• the imported ship-to-shore cranes that are fulfilling in whole or in part an executed contract for sale dated prior to May 14, 2024
• the importer completes the certification in Annex D and provides the completed certification as part of the importer’s electronic entry summary by uploading it to the Document Image System (DIS) in ACE at the time classification is declared under heading 9903.91.09 of the HTSUS”