Office of the United States Trade Representative September 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In a notice published on September 18, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative announced certain modifications to the actions taken in the Section 301 investigation of China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation, including imposing additional Section 301 duties or increasing the rate of existing Section 301 duties, on certain products of China in strategic sectors. Additionally, the U.S. Trade Representative proposed increasing Section 301 tariff rates on five subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) covering certain tungsten products, wafers, and polysilicon. This notice announces that USTR will open an electronic portal on September 23, 2024 for interested parties to submit comments on the proposed tariff increases for the five subheadings.

In connection with the Four-Year Review of actions taken in the section 301 investigation of China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation, and in accordance with the specific direction of the President, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined to: modify the actions being taken in the investigation by imposing additional section 301 duties or increasing the rate of existing section 301 duties, on certain products of China in strategic sectors; propose increasing tariff rates for certain tungsten products, wafers, and polysilicon, with a public comment process to be set out via separate notice; provide a list of subheadings eligible for consideration of temporary exclusion under an exclusion process for certain machinery used in domestic manufacturing; and modify the actions to temporarily exclude from section 301 duties certain solar manufacturing equipment.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), through the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), publishes the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report) each year. USTR invites comments to assist it and the TPSC in identifying significant foreign barriers to, or distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce for inclusion in the NTE Report. USTR also will consider responses to this notice as part of the annual review of the operation and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements regarding telecommunications products and services that are in force with respect to the United States.