On July 10, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced an additional 25% Section 301 duties on various handbag and cosmetic products from France effective January 6, 2021.
These retaliatory duties will be imposed in response to France’s planned Digital Services Tax (“DST”), which the USTR determined is discriminatory and unreasonably burdens U.S. technology companies. Implementation of the additional duties will be delayed for 180 days to allow for further negotiations between the two countries that may resolve this matter. The USTR will publish notice if it decides to implement the duties prior to January 6, 2021.
The USTR originally considered duties of up to 100% on 63 tariff subheadings, including Champagne, cheeses, and cookware. After reviewing comments and holding hearings, the USTR assessed the Section 301 duties at 25% and limited the products subject to the duties to the 21 subheadings below covering handbags and cosmetics with an estimated trade value of $1.3 billion in 2019. The USTR will monitor the effects of this trade action and continued negotiations with France and may make modifications.
There are also currently pending USTR investigations on the DST adopted or proposed by Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, European Union, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, which may also result in the assessment of Section 301 duties.
We are available to answer any questions and discuss strategies to respond to and mitigate the effects of these USTR actions.
Should you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Products From France Subject to Sec. 301 Duties
| HTSUS Subheading | Product Description |
| 3304.10.00 | Lip make-up preparations |
| 3304.20.00 | Eye make-up preparations |
| 3304.30.00 | Manicure or pedicure preparations |
| 3304.91.00 | Beauty or make-up powders, whether or not compressed |
| 3304.99.50 | Beauty or make-up preparations & preparations for the care of the skin, excl. medicaments but incl. sunscreen or sun tan preparations, nesoi |
| 3401.11.10 | Castile soap in the form of bars, cakes or molded pieces or shapes |
| 3401.11.50 | Soap, nesoi; organic surface-active products used as soap, in bars, cakes, pieces, soap-impregnated paper, wadding, felt, for toilet use |
| 3401.19.00 | Soap; organic surface-active products used as soap, in bars, cakes, pieces; soap- impregnated paper, wadding, felt, not for toilet use |
| 3401.20.00 | Soap, not in the form of bars, cakes, molded pieces or shapes |
| 3401.30.10 | Organic surface-active products for wash skin, in liquid or cream, contain any aromatic/mod aromatic surface-active agent, put up for retail |
| 3401.30.50 | Organic surface-active products and preparations for washing the skin, in liquid or cream form, put up for retail sale, nesoi |
| 4202.21.30 | Handbags, with or without shoulder strap or without handle, with outer surface of reptile leather |
| 4202.21.60 | Handbags, with or without shoulder strap or without handle, with outer surface of leather, composition or patent leather, nesoi, n/o $20 ea. |
| 4202.21.90 | Handbags, with or without shoulder strap or without handle, with outer surface of leather, composition or patent leather, nesoi, over $20 ea. |
| 4202.22.15 | Handbags, with or without shoulder straps or without handle, with outer surface of sheeting of plastics |
| 4202.22.40 | Handbags with or without shoulder strap or without handle, with outer surface of textile materials, wholly or in part of braid, nesoi |
| 4202.22.45 | Handbags with or without shoulder strap or without handle, with outer surface of cotton, not of pile or tufted construction or braid |
| 4202.22.60 | Handbags with or w/o shoulder strap or w/o handle, outer surface of veg. fibers, exc. cotton, not of pile or tufted construction or braid |
| 4202.22.70 | Handbags with or w/o shoulder strap or w/o handle, with outer surface containing 85% or more of silk, not braided |
| 4202.22.81 | Handbags with or without shoulder strap or without handle, with outer surface of MMF materials |
| 4202.22.89 | Handbags with or without shoulder strap or without handle, with outer surface of textile materials nesoi |
