Make Tariff Exclusions Automatic, Says Top House Ways and Means Republican

The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee supports extending Trade Act Section 301 tariff exclusions on Chinese imports automatically instead of through burdensome notice and comment proceedings, he told reporters Wednesday. The Trump administration should alleviate “the energy and effort that businesses have to undertake to extend these exclusions right now when they frankly have bigger fish to fry,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas. He said he expressed his views to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Brady supports bipartisan legislation sponsored by fellow Ways and Means member Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., that would direct USTR to extend expiring exclusions for at least a year, but would give the agency some discretion when it disagrees (see 2007170050). U.S. businesses should be “focused on surviving” the COVID-19 pandemic and keeping people employed instead of scrambling to find non-Chinese sourcing or arguing for an exclusion extension, Brady said. USTR and Commerce didn’t comment Thursday.