Office of the United States Trade Representative October 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In September 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative imposed additional duties on goods of China with an annual trade value of approximately $200 billion as part of the action in the Section 301 investigation of China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The U.S. Trade Representative initiated a product exclusion process in June 2019, and interested persons have submitted requests for the exclusion of specific products. This notice announces the U.S. Trade Representative's determination to grant certain exclusion requests, as specified in the annex to this notice.

In a notice published on August 20, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative announced that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) would establish a process by which U.S. stakeholders may request an exclusion from additional duties of particular products classified within a tariff subheading covered by the August 2019 action. This notice announces that USTR will open an electronic portal for submission of exclusion requests on October 31, 2019 for products covered by Annex A of the August 2019 action, and sets out the specific procedures for submitting requests.

On January 23, 2018, the President imposed a safeguard measure on imports of certain solar products pursuant to a section 201 investigation. On February 14, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative established procedures for interested persons to request product- specific exclusions from application of the safeguard measure. On June 13, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative published a notice granting certain requests for exclusions and excluding the products at issue from the safeguard measure's application. In particular, the U.S. Trade Representative excluded bifacial solar panels consisting only of bifacial solar cells. Since publication of that notice, the U.S. Trade Representative has evaluated this exclusion further and, after consultation with the Secretaries of Commerce and Energy, determined it will undermine the objectives of the safeguard measure. Accordingly, the U.S. Trade Representative has modified the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) to withdraw the exclusion of bifacial solar panels from application of the safeguard measure. The U.S. Trade Representative also has modified the HTSUS to make certain technical changes in connection with the safeguard measure.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is establishing a new two-year charter term and accepting applications from qualified individuals interested in serving as a member of the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (TEPAC). The TEPAC is a trade advisory committee that provides general policy advice to the U.S. Trade Representative on trade policy matters that have a significant impact on the environment.

Effective August 23, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative imposed additional duties on goods of China with an annual trade value of approximately $16 billion as part of the action in the Section 301 investigation of China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The U.S. Trade Representative's determination included a decision to establish a product exclusion process. The U.S. Trade Representative initiated the exclusion process in September 2018, and stakeholders have submitted requests for the exclusion of specific products. In July and September 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative granted exclusion requests. This notice announces the U.S. Trade Representative's determination to grant certain exclusion requests, as specified in the Annex to this notice. The U.S. Trade Representative will continue to issue decisions on pending requests on a periodic basis.