China's Extended List of Goods Subject to Additional Tariffs on The United States, Certain Wood Continues to Be Exempted

On July 20, the State Council Tariff Commission issued an announcement on the fifteenth extension of the list of goods subject to additional tariffs on the United States. Previously, the thirteenth extension of the list of goods subject to additional tariffs on the United States was originally scheduled to expire on July 31, 2024.

According to the announcement of the State Council Tariff Commission, the new exclusion period will start from August 1, 2024 and last until February 28, 2025. During this period, some goods such as wood, CNC machine tools, microscopes, etc. will continue to enjoy tariff exclusion treatment.

Among them, the following are mentioned in the attachment:

Oak (HS Code "44039100" and "44079100")

North American hardwood (HS Code "44039960" and "44079930")

Cherry (HS Code "44079400")

Ash (HS Code "44079500")

It is a common North American wood species in the domestic market and is widely used in the production and processing of wooden furniture and other wood products.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first half of 2024, the total trade volume of the above-mentioned wood between China and the United States reached US$645 million, a decrease of 4.1% from the same period in 2023. Despite this, the total import volume is still close to 940,000 cubic meters. However, judging from the average unit price of imports in the first half of the year, except for the 6% drop in the price of cherry wood, the prices of other wood species have increased to varying degrees. In particular, oak logs have directly increased by 20%.

This policy update means that from August 1, 2024 to the end of February 2025, the above-mentioned timber will not be subject to China's additional tariffs in response to the US 301 measures. By extending the tariff exclusion period, the import cost of the relevant timber will remain unchanged, which will not only help stabilize market expectations and promote the development of domestic timber import trade, but also provide a stable market environment for North American timber importers in today's complex and changing international trade environment.