Grassley Supports Tariff Deferral and Zero Tariffs on Medical Goods Needed for Crisis
The leaders of the congressional committees that oversee trade policy have asked the International Trade Commission to organize a list of all goods that relate to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with their tariff rates, any additional tariffs, and any tariff exclusions on those goods. They also want to know how much of these goods are imported from which countries -- and they want all the data by the end of the month. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told International Trade Today during a phone call with reporters April 7 that he'd like the tariffs to be eliminated on all the items the ITC identifies. He said assuming the study shows there were trade restrictions that interfered with the typical import patterns of these supplies, “That would be good ammunition to back up our argument.”
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Although the administration says it is no longer considering a 90-day deferral of import duties (see 2004030047), Grassley said on the call that he still is for the deferral. He said the relief package Congress passed allows companies to file for net operating losses from past years, and to borrow to bridge the sharp decline in revenues. “And if people aren’t paying for tariffs, that’s another way of accomplishing some cash flow,” he said.