Per our Shap Flash on May 6, President Trump announced an increase in Section 301 List 3 tariffs from 10% to 25% that would commence this week. According to a new bulletin posted by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the additional 15% increase on products falling under List 3 will go into effect at 12:01 am on Friday, May 10th, 2019.   The official notice is supposed to be posted in the Federal Register on May 9, 2019.

President Trump postponed plans to increase tariffs by 15% in January and March of this year amidst beliefs that President Xi and China were finally ready to strike a favorable new trade deal for the US. However, Trump justifies the May 10th List 3 tariff increase with the slow progress in recent trade deal discussions with Chinese negotiators.

The USTR also released the following statement which indicates that the exclusion process for List 3 tariffs will be outlined shortly:

“Pursuant to Sections 301(b), 301(c), 304(a), and 307(a) of the Trade Act, the Trade Representative has determined that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will establish a process by which interested persons may request that particular products classified within an HTSUS subheading covered by the September 2018 action be excluded from the additional duties. USTR will publish a separate notice describing the product exclusion process, including the procedures for submitting exclusion requests, and an opportunity for interested persons to submit oppositions to a request.”

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