Yesterday, President Trump issued a memorandum authorising US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to take all appropriate action under Section 301 of the Tariff Act to remedy the acts, policies, and practices of China that are unreasonable and discriminatory and that burden or restrict US commerce as specified in the final report of the USTR in his investigation of China trade practices under Section 301 of the Tariff Act, which was also published yesterday.
Trade Actions Against China
Following the Presidential Memorandum and the USTR’s Final Report the proposed course of action from the United States will be:
| WTO Dispute Resolution Proceeding | In conjunction with other affected members of the WTO, the USTR will pursue a dispute settlement process at the WTO concerning the practices determined to be inappropriate and harmful. |
| Tariff Measures | A 25% ad valorem tariff is being proposed on approximately 1,300 articles imported from China. The USTR has stated that these items will include aerospace, information and communication technology, and machinery products representing between $50 – 60 billion in imports. |
| Investment Restrictions | The USTR will coordinate with other US government agencies in developing proposed measures to address China’s investment practices involving the acquisition of sensitive technologies. |
Timing
- Whilst the USTR has 15 days from yesterday within which to make its proposals on the specific measures to be taken, the Office of the USTR has issued a more aggressive timeline on its website. Specifically, the timeline laid-out by the USTR provides that:
- The proposed list of products impacted by possible tariff measures will be issued within the next several days.
- That list will be set out in a Federal Register notice seeking public comments, which will be due 30 days from publication as well as making a proposed date for public hearings.
Recommendations
I will continue to keep you posted on the specifics of this proceeding and how it may affect our clients. In the meantime, I have provided some initial suggestions on measure companies may start to consider to minimise the possible impact of the additional 25% tariffs proposed by the USTR and how companies may try to protect their future rights to remedies or refunds in the event these tariff measures are subsequently voided or otherwise found unlawful.
The first step will be to remain a participant in the proceeding by taking every opportunity to submit comments and information for the USTR to consider in rendering its final determination. Taking all available opportunities to pursue your rights may help to protect your claims in the future.
Please contact me to discuss your options or for assistance in preparing and submitting comments to the proposed tariff measures.
William Marshall
Email: william.marshall@tiangandco.com
Tel: +852 28334977 / 64696776