US Trade Rep Releases Guidelines For Obtaining Exemption from Anti-China Tariffs

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is releasing guidance for companies on how to ask for exclusion from newly-imposed tariffs on products made in China, the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a press release.

"The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) today announced a process to obtain product exclusions from the additional tariffs in effect on certain products imported from China," the release said on Friday.

The 25 percent tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on imports from China went into effect earlier in the day.

The move was met with threats from the Chinese government it would impose retaliatory measures against US manufactures.

The US Trade Representative is now giving the public, but mainly companies, 90 days to file a request for product exclusion from tariffs.  The Federal Register will determine whether a product is qualified for being exempt from tariffs for a period of one year.  The public will be allowed to submit a response within 14 business days.

Trump said he decided to impose new tariffs on China because of Beijing's unfair trade practices that greatly disadvantaged US workers and pulled businesses out of the United States.