The following is provided in cooperation with our national partners and allies at NAM:

Earlier this month, USTR issued a formal notice (click here) to inform U.S. companies of the four-year anniversary, and potential expiration, of the first two batches of Section 301 tariffs on imports from China (Lists 1 and 2). Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the USTR to impose duties to combat certain “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade acts by a foreign government. Here, those acts related to China’s failure to protect intellectual property of U.S. companies when exporting Chinese products to the U.S. market. Section 301 trade actions must be reviewed after four years, after which they can be extended, modified or terminated. If USTR receives no such petitions, the trade action would end, but a relevant petition to extend would trigger a required USTR review. That review must consider effectiveness of the specific action (and/or alternative actions) in achieving the aims of Section 301 priorities, as well as the impact of the action on the U.S. consumer economy.

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