Section 301 tariff exclusions granted as a result of continuing advocacy effort
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that certain inflatable boats, kayaks, canoes and paddles have been excluded from a list of Chinese imports subject to tariffs.
A Federal Register notice released by USTR on Tuesday identifies 10 types of goods exempted from the Section 301 List 3 tariffs announced in June, which target US$200bn in Chinese imports.
Included on the list are “kayak paddles, double ended, with shafts of aluminium and blades of fibreglass reinforced nylon,” along with “inflatable boats, other than kayaks and canoes, with over 20 gauge polyvinyl chloride (PVC), each valued at $500 or less and weighing not over 52 kg,” and “inflatable kayaks and canoes, with over 20 gauge polyvinyl chloride (PVC), each valued at $500 or less and weighing not over 22kg.”
The move follows weeks of ongoing advocacy efforts by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). “NMMA has been deeply involved in the tariff exclusion process since the situation began, including working with our members to file requests, educating the administration on why our products deserve exemptions, and encouraging members of Congress to stand in support of their constituents and our industry,” said NMMA senior vice president of government and legal affairs, Nicole Vasilaros.
“Inflatable boats and kayak paddles are just the latest items we’ve helped secure exclusions for, and we encourage all stakeholders that are being impacted by these tariffs to work with us on applying for exemptions.”
The USTR formally established an exclusion process for Section 301 List 3 products in late June, following the Trump administration’s decision to increase tariffs on the impacted items from 10% to 25%. The agency has said it will continue accepting exclusion requests until September 30, 2019. USTR expects to receive up to 60,000 exclusion requests for List 3 products, and has stated it will announce additional tariff exclusion decisions as they are finalised.
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