USTR Announces New Section 301 Tariffs And Tariff Rates

On Sept. 13, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced it had concluded its review of Section 301 tariffs previously put in place on Chinese imports. As readers may remember, in May 2024, the Biden administration proposed certain modifications to these existing penalties, and asked for public input on those proposals. After receiving more than 1,000 comments, USTR adopted most of its proposals.

As S&P Global Commodity Insights reported, USTR set tariffs at 25 percent for a range of commodities including steel, aluminum, lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, and tin alloys. The tariff rate on certain steel and aluminum products under Section 301 increased from zero to 7.5 percent to 25 percent. The update also included a new 100 percent duty on electric vehicles and a new 50 percent duty on solar cells. The new penalties and rates take effect on Sept. 27, 2024. An additional 50 percent tariff on semiconductors will go into effect in 2025.

Read the USTR’s findings at this link.

The announcement came the same week that domestic producers of corrosion-resistant (CORE) steel products filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking the imposition of antidumping duties on imports of certain CORE steel products from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam and countervailing duties on imports from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Vietnam. Read more about that petition at this link.