NSGA, NSSRA Sign AFT Letter Requesting Extension of Chinese Tariffs Exclusions

DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS (December 15, 2023) – The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) and National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association (NSSRA) recently signed on to an Americans for Free Trade letter that was sent to the United States Trade Representative requesting an extension of Section 301 China Tariffs Exclusions and four-year review.

Below is the text of letter from AFT.

December 11, 2023

The Honorable Katherine Tai
United States Trade Representative
600 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20508

RE: Extension of Section 301 China Tariffs Exclusions and Four-Year Review

Dear Ambassador Tai:

On behalf of the undersigned members of Americans for Free Trade, we are writing to
request that USTR provide an immediate extension for the limited tariff exclusions and COVID
exclusions from the section 301 tariffs on products from China. The exclusions are currently set
to expire on December 31, just 20 days from now. The pattern of making last-minute
announcements regarding the tariff exclusions exacerbates uncertainty for U.S. companies who
need to make business decisions months in advance. Absent an immediate announcement of the
outcome in the four-year tariff review, we urge USTR to extend the expiring exclusions now.

In the last five years, American importers, including members of our coalition, have paid
more than $198 billion in section 301 tariffs on products imported from China. The product
exclusions granted to date have provided limited but important relief for some U.S. companies –
relief that continues to be needed. Repeatedly announcing exclusion determinations at the last
minute, now the fourth time for the current exclusions in place, creates challenges for companies
who are planning for orders months in advance and need the predictability in order to make
contracts. Predictability and advance notice are even more important for those companies who
import products where there is no domestic or other sourcing alternative.

In USTR’s September 11th Federal Register notice extending the exclusions until the end
of the year, the agency noted that the extension was provided “[t]o provide a transition period
for the expiring exclusions and to allow for further consideration under the four-year review.” In
other words, it was anticipated that USTR would conclude its four-year review of the tariffs and
announce next steps – to include a determination regarding the exclusions – by the end of 2023.
Since USTR has yet to issue the results of the four-year review and it is unclear when it will do
so, we urge USTR to announce a determination on the exclusions now before they expire in
a few weeks.

We also urge USTR to conclude the four-year review expeditiously and announce the
outcomes before the end of the year. The broader stakeholder comment period has been closed
for almost a year now. Americans for Free Trade and the hundreds of organizations who
commented about the continuing negative impact of the tariffs need to know the results to ensure
they have certainly and predictability in their supply chains. In concluding this review, we
strongly urge USTR to avoid increasing tariff rates or subjecting additional products to tariffs.
New and higher tariffs would claw back the progress the United States has made in combating
inflation and create more dislocation, inefficiencies, and potentially job loss across the economy.
Finally, as part of the review’s outcome, we renew our request for USTR to create a more robust
exclusions process that is open to all products covered by the China 301 tariffs.

As economic uncertainty continues, the administration must use every available tool to
provide economic relief and predictability going forward to ensure American businesses can
compete globally. Immediately renewing the tariff exclusions that are set to expire in a few
weeks, opening up a new and robust exclusions process for all covered products, and announcing
the results of the four-year review are important steps towards providing the economic certainty
U.S. businesses need.