Republicans Reintroduce Bill to Apply Section 301 to Chinese Firms' Goods Made Outside China
Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Budget Committee, reintroduced a bill that would allow the administration to impose Section 301 tariffs on goods made outside of China if they are made by Chinese firms.
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The Axing Nonmarket Tariff Evasion Act, or ANTE Act, previously was introduced in the House by Arrington in September 2024 (see 2409260044). Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., is sponsoring the bill in the Senate.
The bill would require the International Trade Commission to investigate whether a planned investment in the country outside China was being made to export goods to the U.S. and thereby avoid the Section 301 tariffs on the same product made in China. If the ITC found that the investment was undertaken with the purpose of exporting to the U.S. with a lower tariff burden, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative would be able to apply the existing Section 301 tariff, even before the first goods arrived in the U.S. market.
In a press release, Arrington said that President Donald Trump is addressing the "existential threat" from global trade imbalances and that this bill will allow Congress to do its part: “The ANTE Act will stop highly-subsidized, state-owned businesses from using third countries as backdoors to evade President Trump's tariffs and help ensure a level playing field for American producers and manufacturers."