The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has granted exclusions from tariffs for gloves, face masks, sanitizing wipes and other medical items imported from China amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Exclusions were given to 103 applications filed to USTR on its List 4A tariff exclusion portal. These granted applications were for products like exam gloves, medical gowns, cleansing wipes, medical masks, and other related products.
The Section 301 tariffs for products on USTR’s List 4A went into effect on September 1, 2019 at 15%. As part of the Phase One trade deal between the U.S. and China, the tariff was cut in half to 7.5% effective February 14, 2020. The exclusion application process for products on List 4A closed on January 31. More than 8000 applications filed to USTR’s List 4A exclusion application portal await determination by USTR.
The MBS Trade Team is following the impacts of the coronavirus on supply chains and Congress’ emergency funding for efforts to combat COVID-19 and provide aid to small businesses effected by the virus. We will continue to send alerts and provide analysis on this issue. Please contact our team if you have any questions.