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1 1 (January 29, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveodx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressionaI Research SerVic informing I hej legsive deb)ate sio I1914 Updated January 29, 2024 Section 301 Tariff Exclusions on U.S. Imports from China In 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) determined, pursuant to an investigation under Section 301 (Title III of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. §§2411-2420), that China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property (IP), and innovation were unreasonable or discriminatory and burdened or restricted U.S. commerce. To counter them and obtain their elimination, the Trump Administration used Section 301 authorities to impose four rounds of increased tariffs on about two-thirds of U.S. imports from China. To avoid harm to U.S. interests, the USTR introduced a new policy allowing stakeholders to request tariff exclusions for U.S. imports that would otherwise have been subject to tariffs. Some policymakers and stakeholders have raised concerns about the implementation of the exclusion request process. In particular, some Member of Congress have questioned USTR's ability to pick winners and losers through granting or denying requests or have pushed for broad tariff relief amid concerns about the negative impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy. This was the case particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the United States' ability to obtain certain products domestically or from countries other than China. Other Members oppose granting any exclusions on the ground that doing so may undermine Section 301's effectiveness at addressing China's unfair trade practices or hinder U.S. efforts to incentivize domestic manufacturing of certain critical goods. The agency established an exclusion process for each of the four stages of tariff increases under Section 301, as well as opportunities for interested parties to submit comments on whether to extend or reinstate exclusions. The Biden Administration continues to review its trade strategy for China. Actions by the USTR so far have not been aimed at providing broader tariff relief. They have been limited to extending unexpired exclusions on medical supplies relevant to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic and reinstating certain exclusions that were previously extended. In May 2022, the agency announced a review- currently ongoing-of all Section 301 tariff actions. Background In August 2017, long-standing concerns over China's policies on IP, subsidies, technology, and innovation led the USTR to launch an investigation-under Section 301-into those policies and their impact on U.S. stakeholders. The investigation concluded that four broad policies or practices justified U.S. action: (1) China's forced technology transfer requirements, (2) cyber-enabled theft of U.S. IP and trade secrets, (3) discriminatory and non-market-based licensing practices, and (4) state-funded strategic acquisition of U.S. assets. Subsequently, as part of its efforts to pressure China to change these practices, the United States imposed additional tariffs, of up to 25%, on certain U.S. imports from China in four separate lists (Lists 1-4A). During the Section 301 notice, hearing, and comment period on proposed tariff increases, the USTR heard from numerous stakeholders who expressed concerns about how additional tariffs could affect U.S. firms and consumers. In response, for each new list of covered products, the USTR created a process whereby interested parties could request that a particular product be excluded from the tariffs, subject to certain criteria. Title III of the Trade Act of 1974 does not outline a formal process for exclusions or require the USTR to establish one. The determination to do so appears to be solely at the USTR's discretion. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency began to prioritize the review of exclusion requests concerning medical products in short supply. Separately, the USTR also requested public comments on whether to remove additional products covered by any list that were relevant to the U.S. response to the pandemic. As a result, it granted new exclusions or extensions for certain of these products. Section 301 Tariff Exdusion Process The tariff exclusion process enabled interested parties to petition for an exemption from the Section 301 tariff increases for specific imports classified within a 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading. The time window to submit requests is closed, but the USTR is reviewing all actions related to the investigation, including decisions on whether and how to accept new exclusion requests (see Four-Year Review Process discussion below). While the USTR approved, on average, 35% of new requests under the first two actions, the approval rates under the third and fourth actions were 5% and 7%, respectively. According to the USTR, all requests were evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The agency indicated that, in determining which requests to grant, it considered the following: (1) availability of the product in question from non-Chinese sources; (2) attempts by the importer to source the product from the United States or third countries; (3) the extent to which the imposition of Section 301 tariffs on the particular product would cause severe economic harm to the importer or other U.S. interests; and (4) the strategic importance of the product to Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs. Past exclusions were also granted for reasons that are thought to include, among others, U.S. national security interests and demonstrable economic hardship from the tariffs for small businesses. Through January 2020, the USTR received a total of 52,746 new exclusion requests, pertinent to all actions. Of these, 6,804 (13%) were granted and 45,942 (87%) were denied. (CRS could not determine the total number of specific requests submitted between March and June 2020 or how many were granted or denied.) Specifically, the exclusions were reflected in 99 10-digit HTSUS tariff subheadings and 2,129 specially prepared product descriptions-all of which cover at least 6,804 separate requests (Figure 1). Because

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