USTR Grants Section 301 Exclusions for Medical Products

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will grant a series of medical product exclusions from List 4 Section 301 tariffs on products from China, it said in a pre-publication copy of a notice. The new exclusions, which are based on 59 separate exclusion requests, cover eight Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings: 3401.19.0000, 3926.90.9910, 4015.19.0550, 4818.90.0000, 6210.10.5000, 6307.90.6090, 6307.90.6800 and 6307.90.9889.

The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020. The exclusions were requested by several medical product distributors, including Brady, Cardinal Health, Medegen, Medline and TIDI Products. Products covered by the exclusions include wipes, specimen container, medical gloves, disposable hospital linens, gowns and surgical masks.

USTR's public docket for List 4 exclusions also shows the agency has granted exclusions under HTS subheading 3926.90.9990, but that tariff provision is not listed in USTR's notice. The new exclusions come as other agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, seek to minimize the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the medical supply chain (see 2002280053). USTR did not comment.