GUIDANCE: Section 301 China Conforming Amendments

CSMS # 53676546 - GUIDANCE: Section 301 China Conforming Amendments U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent this bulletin at 10/18/2022 04:14 PM EDT CSMS # 53676546 - GUIDANCE: Section 301 China Conforming Amendments The purpose of this message is to provide guidance regarding the amendment of Section 301 China duties and product exclusions to conform with certain changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) to reflect Harmonized System modifications adopted by the World Customs Organization and changes to statistical categories. BACKGROUND On October 14, 2022, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published 87 FR 62485 making conforming amendments in Annex I and II to legal note provisions in the HTSUS associated with the actions in the section 301 investigation of China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. Annex I makes technical modifications to the Section 301 duties as set out in the Annexes to the notices published at 85 FR 85831 (December 29, 2020), 86 FR 13785 (March 10, 2021), and 86 FR 63438 (November 16, 2021) and U.S. notes 20(b) to chapter 99 of the HTSUS.  The conforming amendments are effective as of October 14, 2022. Annex II makes additional amendments to Section 301 exclusions to accommodate conforming changes as set out in the Annexes to the notices published at 86 FR 63438 (November 16, 2021), 87 FR 33871 (June 3, 2022), and 87 FR 17380 (March 28, 2022) and U.S. notes 20(sss)(iii)(6) and (8); and U.S. notes 20(ttt)(iii)(9),(11),(179) to chapter 99 of the HTSUS.  These amendments were effective on July 1, 2022. The functionality for the acceptance of the conforming amendments will be available in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) 7 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, October 20, 2022. GUIDANCE Instructions for importers, brokers, and filers on submitting entries to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) containing Section 301 duties and exclusions related to these amendments are set out below: Annex I makes conforming amendments to the HTSUS to accommodate technical modifications to Section 301 duties under U.S. notes 20(b), 20(f), and 20(s)(i) to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS. Note 20(b) (9903.88.01), Note 20(f) (9903.88.03), and Note 20(s)(i) (9903.88.15) are amended by deleting the following subheading numbers where listed: 3402.11.40 5703.20.10 6201.11.00 7019.39.50 7019.59.30 7019.59.40 7019.59.70 7019.59.90 7419.99.50 8541.40.95 9013.90.50 No action is required for these deletions, as these deletions relate to technical corrections of Section 301 China measures for HTSUS subheadings which no longer exist. Note 20(f) (9903.88.03) and Note 20(s)(i) (9903.88.15) are amended by inserting the following subheading numbers: 2202.99.91 and 1704.90.78, respectively. As noted in USTR’s Federal Register notice, (CSMS) No. 51166038 (sent Feb. 28, 2022): content.