US product exemptions

US product exemptions

The US Trade Representative Office (USTR) and the Department of Commerce (DOC) have so far announced a total of 392 product exclusions, 150 of which were published on June 5, additional 61 on June 7, 134 on June 14 and an addition of 47 on June 17. It is reported that more exclusions will follow in the upcoming weeks, as the set date for completion of this exemption process is the beginning of July 2002. China imposed retaliatory tariffs of 7% to 26% to the steel imports into the country while Japan decided to postpone their plans to hit 100% retaliatory tariffs until the US exemptions are entirely revealed. Japan is expected to ask China to revoke the tariffs in the upcoming meetings.