On September 17, 2018 (U.S. time), U.S. President Trump announced the imposition of tariffs on $200 billion in goods from China (the “200 Billion List”). The effective date of this list is September 24, 2018, and the tax rate is 10% as of the end of 2018. The tax rate will be adjusted to 25% from January 1, 2019. The purpose of setting a period of about three months is to allow U.S. importers to make relevant supply chain adjustments.
For the 200 billion list, taxable products were reduced from 6,031 to 5,745, a decrease of 297 items. These include: consumer electronics such as smart watches and Bluetooth devices; chemicals used in manufacturing, textiles and agriculture; and safety products such as bicycle helmets, playpens and children’s high chairs.
Among them, 26 items of textile and clothing products are excluded, including PVC medical gloves (customs code 39262010) that our council applied for exclusion in a speech on behalf of the industry at the hearing on September 23. Before the hearing, leaders of our association led delegations to six provinces across the country for investigation, actively communicated with local commercial authorities and enterprises, and listened to the opinions of enterprises. During the period, at a symposium on exports to US enterprises held in Hebei Province, the enterprise stated that PVC medical 90% of the global production capacity of gloves is in China, and the United States relies 100% on imports of such gloves. I will immediately collect opinions from companies exporting PVC gloves to the United States and argue for the exclusion of PVC gloves at the hearing. Wang Yu, Vice President of our Association, spoke at the hearing and said: The U.S.’s imposition of tariffs on PVC gloves will inevitably lead to increased costs, reduced quality, and extended delivery times. The domestic supply exceeds demand in the United States, and this type of gloves are mostly used in medical institutions. Once imposed, The tax will increase the cost of medical treatment for domestic patients in the United States, and it meets the requirements of product exclusion, irreplaceability, and negative impact on domestic consumers. On the other hand, companies have also actively contacted lawyers and importers, and jointly expressed their opinions with small and medium-sized customers. It can be said that the success of PVC medical gloves has exceeded everyone’s expectations. It is a good result of the joint cooperation and concerted efforts of enterprises and industries!
In addition, the textile and apparel products excluded this time also include plain woven fabrics, twill woven fabrics, plant textile fiber yarns, high-strength yarns, polyester textured filaments, viscose staple fibers, polyester Short fibers, chemical fiber uncut pile fabrics, chemical fiber cut pile corduroy, chemical fiber chenille fabrics, knitted or crocheted pile fabrics, warp knitted fabrics, hair nets, safety helmets, fiberglass , roving woven fabrics and other related products.
I will sort out the 26 excluded textile and apparel products as follows:
| serial number | U.SCustoms code | English product description | Chinese reference | |
| 1 | 3926.20.10 | Gloves, seamless, of plastics | Plastic mittens | |
| 2 | 3926.20.40 | Gloves, nesoi, of plastics | Other plastic gloves | |
| 3 | 4015.19.05 | Medical gloves of vulcanized rubber other than hard rubber | Surgical vulcanized rubber( Except hard rubber )Made gloves | |
| 4 | 5210.11.40 | Unbleached plain weave fabrics of cotton, < 85% cotton, mixed mainly/solely with man-made fibers, wt < 200 g /m2, of number 42 or lower | Plain woven fabric (referring to weight ≤200 grams per square meter, cotton content <85%, below No. 42 td> | |
| 5 | 5210.11.60 | Unbleached plain weave fabrics of cotton, < 85% cotton, mixed mainly/solely with man-made fibers, wt < 200 g /m2, of numbers 43-68 | Plain woven fabric (referring to weight ≤200 grams per square meter, cotton content <85%, No. 43-68 | |
| 6 | 5210.19.10 | Unbleached 3- or 4-thread twill fabrics of cotton, incl. cross twill, < 85% cotton by wt, mixed mainly /solely with mm fibers, n/o 200 g/m2 | Three-thread or four-thread twill woven fabric | |
| 7 | 5308.90.90 | Yarn of other vegetable textile fibers, nesoi | Other plant textile fiber yarns | |
| 21 | 6006.41.00 | Unbleached or bleached knitted or crocheted fabrics of artificial fibers, nesoi | Unbleached or bleached other knitted or crocheted fabrics | |
| 22 | 6505.00.01 | Hair-nets of any material, whether or not lined or trimmed | Hairnet | |
| 23 | 6506.10.30 | Safety headgear of reinforced or laminated plastics, whether or not lined or trimmed | Hard hat | |
| 24 | 6506.10.60 | Safety headgear, other than of reinforced or laminated plastics, whether or not lined or trimmed | Hard hat | |
| 25 | 7019.19.30 | Glass fiber chopped strands of a length more than 50 mm | Fiberglass | |
| 26 | 7019.40.90 | Woven glass fiber fabrics of rovings, o/30 cm wide, colored, other than fiberglass tire cord fabric | Roving woven fabric |
According to common practice, the Office of the United States Trade Representative is expected to issue product exclusion procedures for the 200 billion list in the near future. We recommend that relevant companies actively use this procedure to strive for product exclusion.
The procedures for applying for exclusions can currently refer to the exclusion procedures for products related to the 16 billion list released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on September 18 (https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=USTR-2018-0032). After the United States announces the exclusion process for products on the 200 billion list, I will provide detailed follow-up instructions.
Attachment: 1. USTR Announcement on the Release of the RMB 200 Billion Tariff List https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2018/september/ustr-finalizes-tariffs- 200
2200 billion tax list https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/301Investigations/Tariff%20List_09.17.18.pdf
China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles
September 19, 2018
font size=”3″>6506.10.60
According to common practice, the Office of the United States Trade Representative is expected to issue product exclusion procedures for the 200 billion list in the near future. We recommend that relevant companies actively use this procedure to strive for product exclusion.
The procedures for applying for exclusions can currently refer to the exclusion procedures for products related to the 16 billion list released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on September 18 (https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=USTR-2018-0032). After the United States announces the exclusion process for products on the 200 billion list, I will provide detailed follow-up instructions.
Attachment: 1. USTR Announcement on the Release of the RMB 200 Billion Tariff List https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2018/september/ustr-finalizes-tariffs- 200
2200 billion tax list https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/301Investigations/Tariff%20List_09.17.18.pdf
China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles
September 19, 2018
