Most of the computer, aviation and automotive, electrical and machinery products that will be hit by tariffs under Section 301 are produced by foreign companies operating in China, according to an updated study from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The think tank says it aims to do "truth telling about the benefits of globalization" as well as study labor market adjustment due to globalization and how to find a sustainable growth model for mature economies.
The U.S. plans to impose a 10 percent tariff on an additional $200 billion worth of goods from China in response to China's retaliatory tariffs, President Donald Trump said in a June 18 statement. China's decision to implement 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion in U.S. imports, mirroring the Section 301 tariffs, shows China "has no intention of changing its unfair practices related to the acquisition of American intellectual property and technology," said Trump. "The latest action by China clearly indicates its determination to keep the United States at a permanent and unfair disadvantage."
The reactions from industry and Capitol Hill on the Section 301 tariffs were largely split along lines previously drawn over the Trump administration's general approach to tariffs. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said in a news release that while the changes from the initial list of products from China were "encouraging, " he is "alarmed that additional products are now placed on the list for possible future action." Brady called on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to "narrow these tariffs and implement an effective exclusion process that provides relief for American companies, unlike the problematic Commerce 232 exclusion process.”
China will implement retaliatory 25 percent tariffs on 545 tariff lines, largely agricultural and auto targets, but also "aquatic products," on July 6, it said in a statement. Like the U.S., it is saving an additional $16 billion in targets in reserve. For China, those will be chemicals, energy imports and medical equipment. For the U.S., semiconductors, plastics, railcars, tractors, cranes and new industrial machinery lines could be in the second phase. China's tariffs are in response to the Section 301 tariffs on imports into the U.S. set to begin July 6 (see 1806150003)
The entire congressional delegation from Washington state sent a letter to the U.S. trade representative, asking him to negotiate a solution with countries facing Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, because retaliatory tariffs on apples, cherries, pears and potatoes will cost the state's farmers tens of millions of dollars. The letter talks about cherry sales in China, apple sales in India, China and Mexico, and notes, "With cherry harvest beginning in the Pacific Northwest, time is of the essence for our growers."
White House trade policy adviser Peter Navarro said the list of Chinese products that could be subject to 25 percent tariffs will be a subset of the original list of 1,300 products released in April (see 1804040019). Whether the Section 301 tariffs come to bear against those products will be up to the president to decide, he said while speaking at an event hosted by The Wall Street Journal on June 12. The administration has said the tariff list would be released this week.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 4-8 in case they were missed.
Eight House Republicans, including seven from the Texas delegation, went to bat for constituent tech companies trying to fend off Trade Act Section 301 tariffs of 25 percent on imports from China, with the final tariffs list due out this week (see 1805290010). The eighth GOP member said he wants to protect one company, Cree, from paying higher duties on the LED wafers that it makes in North Carolina, ships to China, and re-imports to the U.S. as finished, packaged chips.
BALTIMORE -- The first round of Section 232 product exclusions should be released soon, said Rich Ashooh, assistant secretary for export administration at the Department of Commerce. "The [Commerce] secretary is very anxious to reach that milestone," he said in response to a question from International Trade Today. Ashooh spoke at the annual American Association of Exporters and Importers Conference June 7.
Several lawmakers submitted letters for and against the inclusion of specific tariff codes in the proposed list of products to face higher tariffs under the Section 301 investigation. The letters were posted in the Section 301 docket on June 5, though many are dated from May. Among the letters are a request from Rep. Glenn Thompson, R- Pa., that bookbinding machinery be removed from the list, and a request from Reps. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., asking that vehicle hoists receive tariffs. Eight members of the California delegation asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative not to impose tariffs that would harm the state's agricultural industry, and Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., complained that the administration has "hesitated" to implement the tariffs.