Section 301 Exclusions Extended!
The USTR finally granted a temporary extension for the last remaining Section 301 tariff exclusions. The exclusions are meant to ease importation of goods to aid in Covid-19 relief and were set to expire on September 30, 2021. The exclusions were granted a temporary 45-day extension while the USTR reviews whether to extend them further beyond that timeframe.
The expiration for these existing, active exclusions is now extended to November 14th, 2021, if no further action is taken to extend them again.
Here is the link to the Federal Register notice posted on the topic.
There is also some talk of another opportunity for importers to utilize exclusions on a broader set of products and commodities. So, we may see the USTR exclusion request portal (or something similar) open once again. We will continue to provide updates as the situation develops.
New Lacey Act Requirements
As of October 1, 2021, a new list of products has Lacey Act reporting requirements. These were implemented as part of the Lacey Act Phase VI under APHIS (the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service). These products did not previously require reporting to APHIS but will now require a Lacey Act data set to be transmitted at the time of importation, before cargo will be able to be released.
Here is a list of the impacted HTS codes:
Ch. 33 Headings (Essential Oils)
- 3301295109—essential oils of cedarwood
- 3301295121—essential oils of linaloe or bois de rose
- 3301295139—essential oils of sandalwood
Ch. 42 Headings (Trunks, Cases, Suitcases)
- 4202292000—trunks, cases, and suitcases of wood
- 4202992000—other, of wood, not lined
- 4202993000—other, of wood, lined
Ch. 44 Headings (Wood and Articles of Wood)
- 441012—oriented strand board (OSB)
- 4415—cases, boxes, crates, drums, containers, pallets, box-pallets, etc.
Ch. 92 Headings (Musical Instruments)
- 9205902000—wind musical instruments: bagpipes
- 9205904020—clarinets
- 9205904080—other (woodwind instruments)
- 9205904060—flutes and piccolos
- 9206002000—drums
- 9207900040—musical instruments (fretted string instruments)
- 9209.92—parts and accessories for musical instruments of heading 9202
- 9209992000—parts and accessories for bagpipes
- 9209994040—parts and accessories for other woodwind instruments
- 9209998000—other
Ch. 96 Headings (Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles)
- 9620005500—monopods, bipods, tripods, and similar articles of wood
We recommend working with your Customs Broker to help identify specific impact to your company’s imports and understand the new, required data elements before your next shipment, so you don’t experience any delays with cargo release and delivery.
We have a team of experts on staff who would be happy to help you navigate the complexities of these issues. Please contact Ashley Coxey, National Director of Business Development, Customs Brokerage or your Laufer representative for more information on any topic discussed in this week’s market letter.