Several tech industry allies will testify Tuesday against 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on imports from China on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's first of two days of hearings, said a new witness list. Sage Chandler, CTA vice president-international trade, will speak, as expected (see 1807200059). Logitech and Universal Electronics will argue for excluding remote controls and other devices imported from China, their comments in docket USTR-2018-0018 showed. The “vast majority” of Universal’s remotes are manufactured in Chinese factories that Universal owns and operates, said CEO Paul Arling, who will testify. Imposing the additional duties on those products “would cause disproportionate economic harm to U.S. interests, including small- or medium-size businesses and consumers,” by forcing higher subscription costs for pay-TV and over-the-top services, said Arling. Many of the spare parts and components U.S. companies import from China “are in fact made by other U.S. companies,” said Jonathan Davis, global vice president-industry advocacy at Semi, which represents electronics industry supply-chain interests. Those companies hold on to their own intellectual property and “only perform low-value manufacturing in China, while the high value-added work is completed in the United States,” said Davis. Josh Kallmer, senior vice president-global policy at the Information Technology Industry Council, will testify for excluding several tariff lines on diodes and integrated circuits, he told the USTR. David Isaacs, Semiconductor Industry Association vice president-government affairs, who will testify on the same panel as Kallmer, said that such tariffs on semiconductors would “fail to address problematic Chinese forced tech transfer and IP theft. Chinese companies export almost no semiconductors to the U.S. market. Most U.S. semiconductor imports from China are semiconductors designed and manufactured in the U.S., and then shipped to China for the final stage."

Though Hasbro products escaped three rounds of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs implemented or proposed on Chinese goods, the toymaker is talking with its congressional delegations and the Trump administration “to ensure we’re communicating just how terrible an impact an ongoing tariff or trade war” would have on the company and the U.S. economy, said CEO Brian Goldner on a Monday earnings call. “We’ve only seen nonmaterial changes to the tariff schemes of other countries that don’t really impact our business.” The company’s toy business “has not been part” of the Section 301 duties that took effect July 6, he said: "A free-trade environment" is "the best course for our company and for the industry.” Hasbro sources about 65 percent of its global product from China, but “we’re moving more production" to alternative sources, said Goldner. “We found some great new partners and territories that provide very-high-quality product,” he said. Hasbro draws about 25 percent of its U.S. revenue from products built in factories it runs in five U.S. states, said Goldner.

Temporary import bonds (TIBs) are allowed for goods subject to the Section 301 tariffs, CBP said in a list of frequently asked questions on the tariffs that took effect on July 6 (see 1807060012). "Any bond posted must be sufficient to cover all relevant duties, taxes, etc., including Section 301 duties," the agency said. Many of the other questions listed were previously addressed during a July 5 call with CBP officials about the tariffs (see 1807050033), a notice in the June 20 Federal Register (see 1806190060), or elsewhere (see 1807160027). Among the issues discussed in the FAQs are submitting entries using Chapter 98 provisions, duty calculation timing for TIBs and foreign-trade zones.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 16-20 in case they were missed.

The Consumer Technology Association wants the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to remove 54 tariff lines from the list of imports from China targeted for a second tranche of 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 duties, said Sage Chandler, vice president-international trade, in comments filed July 23 in docket USTR-2018-0018. Chandler also testified at the USTR’s public hearing on July 24. The 54 tariff lines were well more than double the 22 Harmonized Tariff Schedule product codes that Chandler said CTA members had identified nearly four weeks ago for exclusion from the new list of duties (see 1807100025). Tariffs on the proposed products “will harm the very industries they seek to protect, all while failing to influence China's behavior or help the administration's stated goal of eliminating China’s discriminatory trade practices,” Chandler said in her latest comments.

Sage Chandler, CTA vice president-international trade, will be among several representing tech interests scheduled to testify Tuesday against 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports when the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative convenes the first of two days of public hearings on the proposed duties, according to a witness list the agency released Monday. Chandler will testify that CTA members worry about the impact of tariffs on their supply chains and the duties will put them “at a disadvantage relative to their competitors in other nations,” she told the USTR in recent comments (see 1807100015).

More than 20 businesses and trade groups -- the first set of more than 80 scheduled to testify -- told the Section 301 investigation panel on July 24 that including their imports on the tariff list of $16 billion in Chinese products will lead to higher consumer prices, lower profits, abandoned expansion plans or worse. For Jane Hardy, CEO of Brinly-Hardy Company in Kentucky, having Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 8432.4200, fertilizer spreaders, added to the list is an existential threat. With the tariff on steel, her family-owned company, founded in 1839, began paying 25 percent to 37 percent more for the metal, even though she'd always bought domestic steel. Then, with the first tranche of Section 301, Chinese wheels and hardware that her Indiana factory uses as it builds equipment were taxed at 25 percent.

The U.S. subsidiary of a prominent Japanese radio-antenna manufacturer serving the big five U.S. automakers wants the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to exclude Chinese imports of automotive antenna components from proposed 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs, it commented, posted Friday in docket USTR-2018-0018. The list of proposed duties released June 15 (see 1806150030) was the second tranche of Trump administration tariffs, on which comments are due Monday and a hearing is Tuesday. This tariff schedule subheading is "a specialized product with limited customers and import volume,” said Robert Shield, Yokowo Manufacturing of America president. Few tech sector commenters had filed in the docket through Friday. Sage Chandler, CTA vice president-international trade, will testify for members. We couldn’t verify Friday whether Yokowo is one.

The U.S. subsidiary of a prominent Japanese radio-antenna manufacturer serving the big five U.S. automakers wants the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to exclude Chinese imports of automotive antenna components from proposed 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs, it commented, posted Friday in docket USTR-2018-0018. The list of proposed duties released June 15 (see 1806150030) was the second tranche of Trump administration tariffs, on which comments are due Monday and a hearing is Tuesday. This tariff schedule subheading is "a specialized product with limited customers and import volume,” said Robert Shield, Yokowo Manufacturing of America president. Few tech sector commenters had filed in the docket through Friday. Sage Chandler, CTA vice president-international trade, will testify for members. We couldn’t verify Friday whether Yokowo is one.

Though Hasbro products have escaped three rounds of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs implemented or proposed on Chinese goods, the toymaker is talking with the Trump administration and its congressional delegations “to ensure we’re communicating just how terrible an impact an ongoing tariff or trade war” would have on the company and the U.S. economy, CEO Brian Goldner said on a July 23 earnings call. “Thus far we’ve only seen non-material changes to the tariff schemes of other countries that don’t really impact our business,” he said. Hasbro’s toy business “has not been part” of Section 301 duties that took effect July 6, “but we continue to monitor the situation,” he said. “We continue to talk and firmly believe in a free-trade environment as the best course for our company and for the industry.” Hasbro sources about 65 percent of its product in revenue terms from China, but “we’re moving more production outside China,” Goldner said. “We found some great new partners and territories that provide very-high-quality product that can meet with our specifications,” he said. Hasbro also draws about 25 percent of its U.S. revenue from products sourced from manufacturing sites it runs in five states, Goldner said.