USCBC Advocacy Letter to Ministry of Finance on Tariff Exclusion Procedure

 

On October 23, 2018, the US-China Business Council (USCBC) submitted comments to China’s Ministry of Finance requesting that the Chinese government establish a process for companies to apply to be excluded from the tariffs on US imports, as well as establish a public comment period for any future tariffs. USCBC and its member companies firmly oppose the use of tariffs—both by the United States and China—in the escalating US-China trade conflict. Tariffs increase costs for businesses and consumers in both countries without meaningfully addressing the fundamental issues that prompted them.

 

A transparent public comment period before tariffs are implemented, as well as an exclusion process after they are in place, would provide further benefits to industry, and ultimately, Chinese consumers. A transparent public comment period would help China comprehensively assess the impact that new tariffs will have on industry and consumers, and an exclusion process could provide relief to both Chinese and foreign companies that find their supply chains jeopardized by the unintended consequences of the tariffs.