Chinese American Associations call to express public comment in a timely manner, effectively narrow down 200 billions Chinese import goods list

On August 1, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released a statement to increase the tariff rate imposed by President Trump on the $200 billion Chinese goods from 10% to 25%. On the same day, the Chinese American Institute of Public Diplomacy , the US-SINO Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the All America Chinese Youth Federation issued an open letter calling on the business and industry, to quickly study the list of goods to be tariffed and leave public comment in a timely manner. It is hoped that the scope of goods subject to tariffs will be effectively reduced, and the production and sales costs of various industries in the United States and the cost of living for the people will be stabilized.

The open letter said that it was very worried and disappointed that the US Trade Representative Office issued a statement today to increase the tariff rate of 200 billion Chinese imports goods to 25%. This method and means are not positive for solving the current trade friction between the United States and China.

In particular, if a 25% tariff on 200 billion goods is imposed, the cost of raw materials in the US manufacturing industry, the purchase price of goods in the retail industry, and the selling price of daily consumer goods will inevitably be affected,. Inflation, the increase in labor costs of the enterprise will also occur within a predictable period of time. The impact on the US economy and people’s lives will far exceed the subsequent effects of the first batch of goods added to tariffs.

The open letter pointed out that the first batch of $50 billion in goods list had been implemented after the two-month comment period, but after the business community responded to the comments on the list, the US Trade Representative Office deleted 515 HS codes of goods in the list now implemented. A tax number valued at approximately $16 billion.

According to the stetement of the Office of the US Trade Representative, during the public notice and comment period, business people can reflect their opinions and suggestions. Even after implementation, you can still apply for an exemption. The US Trade Representative Office’s considerations when deciding whether a particular product can be exempted include: whether the commodity has other alternative sources, imported from countries or regions outside China; Whether the tariff will cause serious economic damage to the applicant or other US interests, etc.

The public can post their comments and opinions on the website of the US Trade Representative Office as soon as possible. “The close of the written comment period is extended from August 30 to September 5, and the due date for requests to appear at the public hearing is extended to August 13.  These modifications to the comment period will be set out in a notice to be published shortly in the Federal Register.”

The open letter appealed to all the business and industry, to study the list of goods to be tariffed as soon as possible, and to express their opinions and comment in a timely manner, It is hoped that the scope of goods subject to tariffs will be effectively reduced, and the production and sales costs of various industries in the United States and the cost of living for the people will be stabilized.