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Current Foreign Retaliatory Actions

Foreign Tariff Responses to U.S. Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

A number of countries and U.S. trading partners have imposed or announced their intent to impose retaliatory tariffs on specific exports from the United States in response to the United States’ Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States.

To assist U.S. companies in identifying those exports impacted by retaliatory tariffs, the Department of Commerce’s Industry & Analysis unit has compiled a Retaliation Product Coverage Matrix and retaliation information.

Retaliation Product Coverage Matrix

This matrix lists the U.S. goods subject to announced foreign retaliatory measures in response to the United States’ Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States, and includes direct links for U.S. businesses to find additional detail regarding the scope of the foreign measures.

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China

On April 2, 2018, China began imposing additional tariffs of 15 or 25 percentage points on selected U.S. products.

The United States believes that China’s retaliatory tariffs are inconsistent with WTO rules and has opposed them at the WTO.

See Official Announcement from China (in Chinese): http://gss.mof.gov.cn/zhengwuxinxi/zhengcefabu/201804/t20180401_2857769.html

China’s notification to the WTO, which includes a list of tariff codes covered by its retaliatory measures in English, is available here.

European Union

On June 22, 2018, the European Union (EU) began imposing additional tariffs of 10 or 25 percentage points on selected U.S. products.

The EU has also announced that it reserves the right to impose additional retaliatory tariffs in three years, beginning in 2021, or earlier if the EU receives a favorable ruling by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on their claim that the U.S. tariffs constitute a violation of WTO rules.

The United States believes the EU’s retaliatory tariffs are inconsistent with WTO rules and has opposed them at the WTO.

See Official Announcement from the European Union: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R0724&from

EU’s notification to the WTO, which includes a list of tariff codes covered by its retaliatory measures, is available here.

India

On June 16, 2019, India began imposing retaliatory tariffs of an additional 5, 10, 15, or 20 percentage points on selected U.S. products.

India’s original notification to the WTO, which includes a list of tariff codes to be covered by its retaliatory measures, is available here.

Japan

Japan has notified the WTO of its intent to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products. To date, however, it has not provided specific information regarding the scope or timing of its retaliatory measures.

Japan’s notifications to the WTO are available here and here.

Russia

On August 6, 2018, Russia began imposing additional tariffs of additional 25, 30, 35, or 40 percentage points on selected U.S. products.

The United States believes the Russia’s retaliatory tariffs are inconsistent with WTO rules and has opposed them at the WTO.

See Russia’s Official Notification (in Russian): http://government.ru/docs/33173/

Russia’s notification to the WTO is available here.

Turkey

On June 21, 2018, Turkey began imposing additional tariffs on selected U.S. products. On August 15, 2018, Turkey announced an increase in the additional tariff rates, ranging from 4 to 140 percent.

The United States believes that Turkey’s retaliatory tariffs are inconsistent with WTO rules and has opposed them at the WTO.

See Turkey’s Official Notifications (in Turkish): http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2018/06/20180625M1-30.pdf http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2018/08/20180815-6.pdf

Turkey’s notification to the WTO, which includes a list of tariff codes covered by its retaliatory measures in English, is available here.

Additional Information

To the extent retaliatory measures impact agriculture exports, please consult the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) reports at https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Lists/Advanced%20Search/AllItems.aspx.

Norway and Switzerland have also requested consultations with the United States, as part of WTO dispute settlement proceedings, on the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum into the United States. To date, these countries have not announced their intent to impose retaliatory tariffs.

China’s Responses to U.S. Section 301 Tariffs

China has imposed retaliatory tariffs in three phases on specific products from the United States in response to the United States’ tariffs on Chinese products following the Section 301 investigation into China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.

Exclusion Announcements: China has released 2 exclusion lists and also announced the suspension of tariffs on Soybean, Pork, and other Commodity products based on the relative enterprises.

On December 14, 2018, China announced that it would temporarily suspend retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. autos and auto parts for three months, January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019. See China’s official announcement (in Chinese) here. Lists of 211 products covered by the temporary suspension of retaliatory tariffs are available here: List 1, List 2, List 3. On March 31, 2019 this suspension was extended. See China’s official announcement (in Chinese) here. The temporary suspension ended December 15, 2019 and tariffs are now in effect. See China’s official announcement (in Chinese) here.

To assist U.S. companies in identifying products impacted by China’s retaliatory tariffs, this table compiles information on all U.S. goods subject to China’s announced retaliatory tariffs in response to the U.S. Section 301 action, with direct links to China’s official announcements and product lists. Please see above section for information about China’s separate retaliatory measures imposed on April 2, 2018 on selected U.S. products in response to the United States’ Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States.

For additional information on China Section 301 investigations please visit USTR’s official website at:
https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations

Phase One Information
For the most recent information regarding Phase One Deal with China, see USTR’s Press Release at:
https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2019/december/united-states-and-china-reach…………

Disclaimer

The information set forth above regarding foreign retaliatory measures, including the Retaliation Product Coverage Matrix, has been provided as a public service for general reference. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information presented is complete and accurate as of November 1, 2018. The information will be updated as new developments occur.

The actual tariff classification and assessment of duties is determined by customs authorities in the relevant foreign country. Moreover, countries may elect to increase tariffs or otherwise amend tariff treatment at any time. For definitive guidance, parties should contact the government customs agency in the appropriate foreign country.

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Prepared by Industry & Analysis