US extends duty waivers for medical products from China

The Biden administration is extending tariff exclusions on about 99 categories of medical products from China until September 30, 2021 to aid the fight against the coronavirus disease the U.S. Trade Representative's office said in a Federal Register notice here on Wednesday, Reuters reports..

The list of exclusions covers items from masks and gloves to blood pressure cuff sleeves and X-ray tables. The extension of a previous tariff exclusion on the medical goods under the Trump administration’s “Section 301” tariffs was set to lapse on March 31.

“In light of the continuing efforts to combat the coronavirus disease  the U.S. Trade Representative has determined that it is inappropriate to allow the exclusions for certain products to lapse,” the trade agency said in the notice signed by USTR General Counsel Greta Peisch.

Most of the products had been included in a fourth round of tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by President Donald Trump on September 1, 2019, at the height of the U.S.-China trade war. They were hit with an initial U.S. tariff rate of 15 percent that was later lowered to 7.5% as part of the U.S.-China “Phase 1” trade agreement enacted in February 2020.