China ‘One of the Few’ Sources of ‘A Grade’ Optical Discs, Says Tariff Exclusion Request

The additional 15 percent Section 301 List 4A duties imposed Sept. 1 on the blank CDs and DVDs that Vinpower Digital imports from China under the 8523.41.00 tariff code are causing “significant harm in a market that is severely price sensitive and works on slim margins,” said the vendor in an exclusion request posted Monday at the Office of U.S. Trade Representative docket. Vinpower bills itself as a leading global supplier of digital duplication hardware and optical media. Blank optical discs were “previously produced in the US, but the demand and price decreased to a level where it was no longer financially viable to continue producing in the USA,” said Vinpower. “The factories closed and production ceased to exist in the USA.” The vendor is “not sure” the goods can be sourced from a third country because the 8523.41.00 tariff code “incorporates a broad product range that can be generated by a larger list of manufacturers,” it said. The goods Vinpower needs encompass “a very niche product line and the overall demand for this product is shrinking,” it said. Most manufacturers “have exited the market for other endeavors or became insolvent,” it said. “Only a small handful of factories” still produce blank optical media, “and we require a more refined product that incorporates a specific expertise and capability that is currently only available in China,” it said. The lack of availability “demonstrates our need to work with one of the few nations that still boasts sizeable production of A grade” optical discs, it said.