October 15, 2018
With the signature of the President on September 13, 2018, H.R. 4318 Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018 (MTB) became law, amending the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) as of this past weekend (October 13th). The law suspends and reduces tariffs on 1,660 products through December 31, 2020. HOWEVER, as noted in our September Update # 3:
Importers should be aware that any tariff reductions received as a result of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) do NOT preclude Section 301 tariffs. The following is an example of the result for merchandise covered under the MTB that is also listed as subject to additional duty under Section 301:
Original Tariff – 4202.92.15: 6.3%
Tariff Following MTB Reduction – Free, per SEC. 1119. Doll Diaper Bags – 9902.12.37
Section 301 – 10% (additional)
Final Tariff Amount – 10 % (still a lessened rate because without the MTB, the final amount would have been 16.3%)
In that regard, there are nearly 150 items covered by the MTB that are subject to additional 25 percent tariffs under the Section 301 tariffs currently in place, according to House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee ranking member Bill Pascrell, who stated in an earlier Press Release:
“What is confusing right now is the fact that, while the Administration continues to move forward with tariffs that will cover nearly half of all imported products from China, the MTB will reduce or remove tariffs on many of the same products.
As noted above, the MTB’s duty suspensions and reductions went into effective for goods entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption on or after October 13, 2018.[1] Accordingly, Customs and Border Protection programmed all Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers in ACE, See CSMS 18-000606 CBP Implementation of H.R. 4813, The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018:
SECTION 301 TRADE REMEDIES
Since approximately half of the 1,660 MTB-eligible items are produced in China, there is overlap with Section 301 tariffs. Products of China subject to Section 301 tariffs can benefit from MTB’s suspensions and reductions for the general (column 1) rate of duty, but remain subject to the 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty imposed by headings 9903.88.01 and 9903.88.02 or 10 percent ad valorem rate of duty imposed by headings 9903.88.03 and 9903.88.04.
[1] The MTB reduces or suspends tariffs on products imported from any and all countries – not just China.
