US-China Business Council Says Counterfeit Language in Phase One 'Detailed and Complete'

Whether the flow of counterfeit goods shipped from China will abate as a result of the phase one U.S.-China trade agreement is yet to be seen, but Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said the “language was pretty detailed and complete.” Allen, who was responding to a question from International Trade Today during a Jan. 16 conference call, said this represents “a huge shift in the official Chinese attitude. We should be appreciative of the Chinese government commitment here to better police that [counterfeit problem] internally and at their own border.”

Allen said that 80 percent of counterfeits seized by Customs officials around the world were made in China. He said there is a great deal of discrepancy between ports in China on how well this is policed, and he expects that will continue.

For importers more broadly, Allen acknowledged there's not much to appreciate in the first phase. “Those companies that were hurt by tariffs that are not going down are understandably disappointed,” he said. “Only approximately 11 percent of the American tariffs have gone away.”

However, the USCBC is hopeful that if the U.S. is disappointed with China's follow-through, the last tariff list of Section 301 that covers nearly all the goods from China not yet hit, will not be hit. Jake Parker, senior vice president, said that instead of the Dec. 15 tariffs coming into effect, the tariffs will be proportionate. “We hope,” he added. Parker said both governments have told the USCBC they will use tailored tariffs if it comes to that.