Per our previous Shap Flash, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) had announced that it commenced proceedings under Section 301 of the Trade Act into a long-standing dispute concerning subsidies granted to the large civil aviation industry within the European Union (EU) and other member states.

The USTR has recently revealed that it is now considering increased duties of up to 100% on EU products, spanning an additional 89 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers; this represents approximately $4 billion in annual trade value with the U.S.

The USTR will publish a final list, containing HTS numbers of products from both lists, that will be subject to the additional duties – once a final determination is made by officials and the investigation process is complete.

At this time, the USTR is requesting comments on any the following:

  • The specific products subject to increased duties, including whether or not products listed in the Annex should be retained or removed, or if products not currently on the list should be added.
  • The specific increase and/or level of duty rate, if any.
  • The appropriate aggregate level of trade to be covered by any additional duties.
  • Potentially adverse risks or effects on U.S. stakeholders as a result of the increase, including small business and consumers.

Please refer to the schedule below for all consideration and comment deadlines:

  • July 24, 2019: Submissions due to request appearance at the public hearing and summary of testimony.
  • August 5, 2019: Submissions of all written comments due; Public hearing on the Section 301 Committee in the Main Hearing Room of the U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
  • August 12, 2019: Submission of post-hearing rebuttal comments.

The official Federal Register Notice can be found here.

To submit written comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal, follow the instructions in Sections D and E; the docket number is USTR–2019–0003.

For issues with online submissions related to Section 301, please contact: The Office of the United States Trade Representative, Megan Grimball, Assistant General Counsel, (202) 395–5725.

Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates as they become available.