Export Compliance Daily is a service of Warren Communications News.
Subscriber Login

Section 301 tariffs

Section 301 Tariffs are levied under the Trade Act of 1974 which grants the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) authority to investigate and take action to protect U.S. rights from trade agreements and respond to foreign trade practices. Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 provides statutory means allowing the United States to impose sanctions on foreign countries violating U.S. trade agreements or engaging in acts that are “unjustifiable” or “unreasonable” and burdensome to U.S. commerce. Prior to 1995, the U.S. frequently used Section 301 to eliminate trade barriers and pressure other countries to open markets to U.S. goods.

The founding of the World Trade Organization in 1995 created an enforceable dispute settlement mechanism, reducing U.S. use of Section 301. The Trump administration began using Section 301 in 2018 to unilaterally enforce tariffs on countries and industries it deemed unfair to U.S. industries. The Trump administration adopted the policy shift to close what it deemed a persistent "trade gap" between the U.S. and foreign governments that it said disadvantaged U.S. firms. Additionally, it pointed to alleged weaknesses in the WTO trade dispute settlement process to justify many of its tariff actions -- particularly against China. The administration also cited failures in previous trade agreements to enhance foreign market access for U.S. firms and workers.

The Trump Administration launched a Section 301 investigation into Chinese trade policies in August 2017. Following the investigation, President Trump ordered the USTR to take five tariff actions between 2018 and 2019. Subsequent rounds of Section 301 actions against China have continued since. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative administers Section 301 tariffs, and has also created an exclusion process for importers to seek exemptions from the tariffs.

to
articlessource documents
Refine Topic Search
Clear Terms

Search Primer

Term list: Separate terms with spaces, not commas or semicolons.

Multi-word term: Place inside quotes to ensure an exact match (e.g. "China import").

Acronyms: Use all capital letters to ensure the search is not looking for that letter sequence instead.

Required term: If a term must be included in any resulting articles, prefix it with a plus sign (e.g., +CBP).

Excluded term: If a term should be excluded from any articles being found, prefix it with a minus sign (e.g., -ruling).

Singular form: Always use the singular form when doing multi-word terms (e.g. "russian export control" instead of "russian export controls").

Shortest word form: When you have different word forms in a quoted (multi-word) term, you want to only include the shortest version if it is the last part of the expression (e.g., "entity list" instead of "entity listing" or "entity listed").

AI Startup Launches Services for Duty Drawback, Tariff Refund Processing
August 1, 2025 |Trade Business

San Francisco-based Caspian, an ABI software vendor and licensed customs broker, is officially launching its AI-informed advisory services for duty drawback and tariff refund processing, according to a recent announcement. The company, which bills itself as "an AI-driven customs compliance startup," says its tools are able to analyze companies' international shipping records and inventory data to find eligible duty refunds that can be submitted as claims within days. Because Caspian is approved by CBP as a tech provider and customs broker, it says it can file claims with CBP on behalf of clients or in support of others' existing trade advisory work.

Topics:Customs duty, Drawback
CBP Warns of Penalties for Non-Compliance With Section 232 Copper Duties
July 31, 2025 |Customs

CBP will be watching for entries that don't fully calculate the duty value of merchandise that falls under Section 232 duties for copper and intensive copper derivatives products, according to a cargo systems message offering guidance on the tariff that was announced earlier this week (see 2507300061). The Section 232 tariff calls for a 50% ad valorem duty on all imports of semi-finished copper products and intensive copper derivative products from all countries.

Topics:Customs duty, Drawback
CBP Gives New Date for Automated Rejection of Manifest Filings With Insufficient Cargo Info
July 24, 2025 |Customs

CBP has set a target date of Sept. 27 for implementation of an ACE enhancement that would automatically reject manifest filings with insufficient cargo information, such as insufficient cargo descriptions, consignee information or shipper information, according to CBP's Notional Development & Deployment Schedule for July.

Topics:321 de minimis, Entry Type 86 , Customs duty, Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), Drawback