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https://scmp.com/news/china/article/3028191/hundreds-chinese-goods-exempted-donald-trumps-tariffs China
Hundreds of Chinese goods exempted from Donald Trump’s tariffs
- Move is an effort to provide relief to US firms who say they have been harmed by duties and cannot find an alternative source of supply
- Report shows 40 per cent of midsize company leaders say president's tariffs on imported goods are posing challenges for their business
Shipping containers from China and other Asian countries are unloaded at the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday. Photo: AFP
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Doug Palmer on politico.com on September 19, 2019.
The Trump administration has excluded Christmas tree lights, a series of pet supplies, plastic drinking straws and hundreds of other products from a 25 per cent duty US President Donald Trump imposed on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods, according to three notices set to be published in the Federal Register on Friday.
The move comes as the United States and China are preparing for another round of high-level trade talks in early October. But the exclusions are less about placating Beijing than they are an effort to provide relief to some US companies who say they have been harmed by Trump's tariffs and cannot find an alternative source of supply.
The Office of the US Trade Representative did not respond to a request for an estimate of the value of trade represented by the exclusions.
Other products on the three lists of tariff exclusions include certain single-speed bikes, water drinking fountains for pets, various types of pumps, heat exchangers, compressors, chest-type coolers, upright freezers and household water filter cartridges.
Also included are anaesthesia masks, electric-powered skateboards, three-wheeled carriages used by people with disabilities, chain-link fence panels, tractor-trailer skirts, X-ray tables, wick-burning torches for outdoor use, and dog harnesses and dog leashes.
The US Chamber of Commerce in partnership with RSM US, an audit and tax consulting firm, released a quarterly survey report on Thursday showing that 40 per cent of midsize company leaders say Trump's tariffs on imported goods are posing challenges for their business.
Twenty-six per cent also reported being hurt by retaliatory tariffs that China and other countries have imposed in response to Trump's duties over the last two years.
“Rising tariffs and policy uncertainty are preventing midsize businesses – who employ millions of Americans – from investing and growing,” Neil Bradley, US Chamber of Commerce executive vice-president and chief policy officer, said in a statement.
“To guard against a possible recession, policymakers need to restore economic certainty, and that means de-escalating trade tensions with China, passing [the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement] and investing in the future through an infrastructure package,” Bradley added.
A woman looks at toys made in China at a store in Los Angeles on Friday. Photo: AFP
USTR said it considered a number of factors in determining whether to grant an exclusion request to US importers facing additional costs as a result of Trump's trade actions.
Those include whether the particular product, or a comparable one, is available only from China, whether the imposition of additional duties on the product would cause severe economic harm to the applicant or to other US interests and whether the particular product is strategically important or related to China's “Made in China 2025” industrial programme or to other Chinese industrial programmes.
Trump initially imposed duties on US$50 billion worth of Chinese goods that he said benefited from Chinese government support under the “Made in China 2025" initiative. But when Beijing retaliated, Trump expanded his action to include products outside his original target zone.
By the end of the year, Trump will have imposed either a 30 per cent or a 15 per cent duty on as much as US$550 billion worth of Chinese goods as a result of tariff increases set to take effect in October and December.
The pending tariff exclusions USTR will publish on Friday fall into three batches, based on when duties first went into effect in 2018.
Exclusions from a total product list of US$34 billion will apply retroactively from July 6, 2018; exclusions from a US$16 billion list will apply retroactively from August 23, 2018; and exclusions from a US$200 billion list will apply retroactively from September 24, 2018.
The exclusions will last for a year for products from the US$34 billion and US$16 billion product lists, but only until August 7, 2020 for products from the US$200 billion product list, USTR said.