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The International Trade Administration in early June released a potential “List 4” of tariffs that will apply to Chinese-origin goods. Currently, there are 3 Lists of duties that cover approximately $250 billion in goods from China. List 4 goods covers approximately $300 billion in goods from China and covers more than 3,800 categories of goods such as electronic devices, apparael, home goods, shoes, sporting goods, and mobile phones.

In short, if the proposed duties on goods covered under List 4, then practically all Chinese imports (totaling about $550 billion dollars worth) will be subject to an extra 25% duty.

As with Lists 1-3, before List 4 can be enacted, hearings and a comment period need to occur. Here are important dates for List 4 goods:

June 10, 2019 – deadline to request to appear at a hearing
June 17, 2019 – deadling to submit comments prior to hearing
June 17, 2019 – public hearing with the US Trade Representative
June 24, 2019 – deadline to submit comments following hearing

As in the case of Lists 1-3, there are also goods that are excluded and they include outboard motor engines for boats, some forklifts and some pressure valves. An exclusion process for importers to request exclusion of individual goods has not yet been released.

-If you have any questions on how these List 4 duties will impact your business, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at dh@gjatradelaw.com, attorney.dave@yahoo.com.