Fossil Applies for 7 More List 4A Tariff Exemptions on Chinese Watch Parts

Fossil Group seeks exclusions from the 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs it has paid on seven classifications of traditional-watch parts it imports from China since the duties on those goods took effect Sept. 1, said postings Monday in the U.S. Trade Representative’s public docket. It requested exemptions on four classifications of watch straps imported under the 9102.11.10.30, 9102.11.25.30, 9102.11.30.30 and 9102.11.45.30 tariff subheadings, plus three on the watch cases it imports under the 9102.11.10.20, 9102.11.30.20 and 9102.11.45.20 classifications, said the postings. As with the exemption it sought Friday on the finished watches it sources from China (see 1912060062), Fossil said it uses a factory in India to supply the watch parts to the local market there, but the facility doesn’t have the capacity to service the company’s global needs. Fossil also is “not aware of any facility in the U.S. that can meet its needs for capacity, supply chain logistics, pricing, quality control and timely delivery of its traditional watch products to the standards it currently achieves in its supply chain,” it said in each of the postings.