US Agrees to Classify Hoverboards With No Import, Section 301 Duties
The U.S. agreed to liquidate hoverboards imported by 3BTech under duty-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8711.60.000 and exclude the goods from Section 301 China tariffs under secondary subheading 9903.88.17. 3BTech and the U.S. filed a stipulated judgment in the importer's test case on the issue, which resolves the spat in favor of 3BTech (3BTech v. United States, CIT # 21-00026).
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The secondary subheading applies the exclusion from Section 301 duties imposed by subheading 9903.88.02 for "[m]otorcycles with electric power for propulsion, each of a power not exceeding 1,000 W ( ... described in statistical reporting number 8711.60.0000, effective prior to July l, 2019)."
The stipulation comes after months of litigation in the dispute, which was originally filed in 2021. Most recently, 3BTech responded to the government's cross-motion for judgment, contesting the factual basis of the government's motion (see 2502200029). Despite a failed attempt to strike three export reports from the record of the dispute, 3BTech said the U.S. cross-motion merely restated the experts' declarations that were provided after the close of discovery and that two of the experts weren't qualified to serve as experts.
3BTech also challenged many of the government's statements regarding the hoverboards, including its claim that “human powered and electrically powered vehicles that are used for transportation fall within the micro-mobility vehicles industry.” The case also saw an amicus brief filed by hoverboard seller GoLabs claiming the government's preferred classification of the hoverboards as transportation devices under heading 8711 instead of toys under heading 9503 might be precluded by the section and chapter notes for HTS Chapter 87.