Industry Asks for Broad Exclusion Parameters for Chinese Tariffs

A group of 80 trade associations has asked for exclusions to Section 301 Chinese tariffs to be liberally granted, including that they be granted automatically to all importers who have a "binding 'signed purchase order' to procure products from a supplier in China" if that order was signed before July 6.

On Aug. 14, the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association publicly released the Aug. 8 letter it and the other associations had sent to the U.S. trade representative outlining how exclusions should be granted. The top request is one that the agency already plans to do -- if an exclusion is granted to a particular product under a 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule category for one company, that exclusion will be available to all importers of the same product.

However, the letter also asked for retroactivity; that relief be granted as long as the tariffs are in place; and that applicants may file one submission covering multiple 10-digit HTS product lines that fall within one 8-digit HTS product category now subject to the new 25 percent tariff, "to minimize duplication of product exclusion requests as well as expedite and streamline the review process."

The organizations that signed the letter -- including the National Retail Federation, the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones and the American Chemistry Council -- also asked that applicants be allowed to rebut opposition to their requests before a final determination is made. The separate Section 232 exclusion requesters have had no opportunity to rebut opposition. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has said that opposition from domestic suppliers means exclusions to those tariffs won't be granted.

Next week, the committee deciding how to shape the list of $200 billion in Chinese goods that will face a 25 percent tariff will hear from more than 300 witnesses in hearings scheduled for every day Aug. 20-24, and again on Aug. 27 (see 1808150002).