Lawmakers Push USTR for Section 301 Exclusion Process on Latest Tariffs

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer should put in place a process for exclusion from the 10 percent Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, which the Trump administration imposed last month (see 1809240015), a group of 169 members of Congress said in an Oct. 15 letter to the USTR. While the USTR allowed for exclusions to each of the first two lists of Section 301 tariffs, there's been no mention from the administration about a similar process for the latest list of tariffs. A wide range of industries asked the USTR for an exclusion process in a letter last month (see 1809270038).

An exclusion process for the third tranche would "afford U.S. companies the opportunity to see relief if tariffs harm their global competitiveness and would help target the effects of the tariffs on China rather than on U.S. companies and their customers," said the lawmakers' letter, led by Reps. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind. and Ron Kind, D-Wis. "We ... appreciated that an exclusion process was set up to further refine the first two lists. However, the lack of a process for this most recent list is a glaring omission, particularly given its size in relation to the first two lists." The exclusion process should be "fact-based" and spelled out in a Federal Register notice, they said.