On 17 February 2020, the Tariff Commission of the State Council issued the announcement on the exclusion of goods under market-oriented procurement from additional tariff against U.S. (“Announcement 2”), deciding upon the applications of domestic enterprises in China, to not impose additional counter-tariff against the action of the U.S. under Section 301 for a certain period of time on imported goods that are procured from the U.S. in line with the conditions and under the market-oriented and commercial principle. It is the first time for the Tariff Commission of the State Council to issue an announcement on excluding US products from additional tariffs since China and the US announced the first phase of their Economic and Trade Agreement on 13 December 2019 and officially signed the agreement on 16 January 2020. The applicable scope for the excludable products has been expanded based on the first two rounds of exclusion work, and the exclusion process has been further optimised. These developments have drawn the attention of import and export entities, particularly in light of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Applicants
Scope of products that are eligible for the exclusion application process
List of products eligible for the exclusion application process |
Products eligible for the application for an additional exclusion |
Products automatically eligible for exclusion without going through the application process |
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Application methods and deadline
Filing requirements for applications
Application results
Procurement implementation
Since China and the US entered into the first phase of the Economic and Trade Agreement, the issuance of Announcement 2 can be understood as part of China’s unremitting efforts to solve the current trade friction between the two countries. The implementation of Announcement 2 will reduce costs issues for enterprises and boost their development by minimising tax burdens in relation to products procured and imported from the US. Announcement 2 will give a “heart-strengthening shot” to import and export entities, especially in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic. Therefore, we suggest that related import enterprises take advantage of this opportunity and fully assess their exclusion requests. Particular attention should be paid to the following issues: