President Trump has announced that beginning Sept. 1 he will impose a 10 percent additional tariff on virtually all of the remaining $300 billion worth of goods imported from China that are not already subject to Section 301 tariffs (List 4 goods).

Initial indications are that the 10 percent tariff, which would be in addition to any other applicable tariffs, will be applied on the entire list of 3,805 full and partial subheadings announced in May. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said at that time that this list covers all apparel, footwear, and manufactured textile products, among others, but excludes pharmaceuticals, certain pharmaceutical inputs, select medical goods, rare earth materials, and critical minerals. A Federal Register notice providing additional clarifying details is expected shortly.

Based on experience with List 3 goods, it is not expected that requests to exclude specific products from List 4 will be accepted while the tariff rate remains at 10 percent. If this rate is increased to 25 percent, which could happen if the administration deems it necessary to gain additional leverage in the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks, an exclusion process could be established.

With only a month until the tariff is set to be imposed, companies should explore the legal options available for reducing or eliminating their exposure. They should also carefully examine export dates and projected arrival dates to conform with the Sept. 1 tariff start date.

Customs and trade law firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg has extensive experience helping businesses with these and related tasks.  For more information, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956 or Larry Ordet.