On Friday, February 14th, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) revealed additional modifications to the Section 301 tariffs on approximately $7.5 billion worth of European Union (EU) products that originally went into effect on October 18th, 2019.

The USTR will publish a notice in the Federal Register advising importers to prepare for the imposition of 25% tariffs on certain EU products, in addition to a 5% tariff increase on EU aircrafts (from 10% to 15%).

Annex 1, subparagraph A and B will be applicable for products entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. EST on March 5, 2020. This will include the removal of prune juice and the addition of butcher knives.

Annex 1, subparagraph C will be applicable to products entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. EST on March 18, 2020. This will include the 5% increase on aircrafts as well as other adjustments to the unofficial descriptions of products.

As was the case in the October action, any product contained in the Annex that is eligible for admission under ‘domestic status’, as defined in 19 CFR 146.43, may only be admitted as ‘privileged foreign status’, as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, if such product is:

  • Subject to the additional Section 301 duty imposed in this notice; AND
  • Admitted into a U.S. foreign trade zone (FTZ) on or after 12:01 a.m. on the effective date.

In such a case, the product will be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty or limitations related to the classification under the applicable HTS subheading.

Click here to view the list of EU products, applicable duty rate and specific EU member States affected by the revisions.

At this time, the USTR has decided not to increase the rate of duties above the additional 25% currently being applied to non-aircraft products, including French wine, Scotch whisky and Italian cheese. However, they are still considering whether the current rate of additional duty should be increased to as high as 100% going forward and will revise the actions taken in this investigation as needed.

For all Shapiro customers, if you have requested this service, your Shapiro point of contact will be in touch shortly should they apply to your products.

Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and provide status updates as they become available.