International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June15-19 in case they were missed.

Correction: The new Section 301 tariff exclusion for motorboats will fall under previously created subheading 9903.88.48 (see 2006190034).

Of the 52,746 exclusion requests related to Section 301 tariffs, 75.4% have been denied, and 12.3% are still under review, a new Congressional Research Service report says. Because most exclusions are for specific products, and don't cover an entire Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading number, it's not possible to know how much trade is covered by the exclusions, CRS said. The report noted that some Congress members complain about the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative picking winners and losers, while others feel any exclusion undermines the ability of Section 301 to address China's unfair trade practices.

Contract manufacturer Jabil expects to incur up to $170 million in COVID-19 costs for fiscal 2020 ending Aug. 31, said Mark Mondello on a Q3 call Friday. It’s targeting $50 million in annual savings through global workforce reductions, he said.

Generally, an entry is liquidated after 314 days, but Geodis customs brokers told an audience of fashion industry professionals that there have been cases in which liquidation came early, and there was not enough time left to do a protest in order to get a refund after an exclusion was granted. The brokers spoke during a webinar hosted by the U.S. Fashion Industry Association.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new product exclusion for motorboats from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website June 19. The exclusion will apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020. The new exclusion will fall under previously created subheading 9903.88.48.

Any future Section 301 exclusion renewals will only last until the end of the year, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the House Ways and Means Committee as he testified June 17 about the administration's trade agenda, adding that “they will decide what happens after that.”

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told two senators concerned about retaliatory tariffs in India that the U.S. is working on restoring India to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, but that it's slow going. “We’re in the process of restoring it if we can get an adequate counterbalancing proposal from them,” he told Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who had complained that American apples are now taxed at 70% in India because of Section 232 tariffs on metals from that country.

Any future Section 301 exclusion renewals will only last until the end of the year, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the House Ways and Means Committee as he testified June 17 about the administration's trade agenda, adding that “they will decide what happens after that.”

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 8-12 in case they were missed.