On September 3, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) proposed another increase in the Section 301 tariffs on imported products from China. USTR launched the investigation in August 2017 and has imposed tariffs in four tranches. It is now proposing increasing the rate of the duty from 25 percent to 30 percent for the first three lists of products beginning on October 1, 2019.
USTR has requested public comments by September 20, 2019, and asks:
- Whether increasing the rate of additional duties would be practicable or effective in obtaining the elimination of China’s unfair practices; and
- Whether increasing the rate of additional duties on a particular product would cause disproportionate economic harm to U.S. interests, including small- or medium-size businesses and consumers.
Public comments should be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. The docket number is USTR-2019-0015.
