SFIA is committed to lowering tariffs on industry products. The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program allows for the duty-free entry of products made in more than 100 eligible countries. SFIA actively engaged in the successful effort to expand the GSP to include sports bags, backpacks, and equipment bags. SFIA and its members testified and submitted comments during the GSP expansion hearings, which led to the opening up this duty-free program to bags, allowing companies to avoid up to 17.9% tariffs on bags imported into the U.S. The GSP expired at the end of 2020 and Congress has failed to reauthorize it due to disputes on labor and environmental standards in GSP countries.
The GSP Coalition is seeking to increase pressure on Congress and looking for companies willing to share how the lapse of the GSP program has impacted their business and sourcing decisions. If you are interested in sharing your story, please click here for more information. Do not worry about the deadline for the article, the link will remain open indefinitely and the GSP Coalition can use examples on the impact of the program’s lapse to press for Congressional action.
For more information or for questions, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government & Public Affairs, at [email protected].
Washington, D.C. (January 17, 2023): The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) joined business interests in requesting the Biden Administration drop Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-made products entering the U.S. The letter to USTR Tai, signed by nearly 200 leading business organizations, highlights that the $165 billion in Section 301 tariffs collected to date has:
– Had little impact on IPR
– Has not brought manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
– Harmed U.S. businesses, employees, and consumers
– Increased inflationary pressure in America
– Caused uncertainty for American businesses
The business community requests:
– An open comment period for businesses to provide insight on the impact of tariffs on their business
– USTR re-opens a fair and transparent Section 301 tariff exclusion process after the General Accountability Office (GAO) report found the initial exclusion process was unfair and fatally flawed.
SFIA is committed to lower tariffs to reduce Member costs and help consumers in a challenging economy. We will continue to support efforts to reduce/eliminate punitive tariffs of Chinese imports.
Click here to view the letter.
For more information or for questions, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government & Public Affairs, at [email protected].
Washington, D.C. (January 6, 2023): For three years, Customs & Border patrol has collected additional tariffs on Chinese-made products due to Section 301 Tariffs. At its peak, up to $300 billion dollars in Chinese imports were hit with 7%-25% in additional tariffs. A lawsuit was filed challenging the legality of the tariffs and USTR’s compliance with rules governing the exclusion review process. The Court of International Trade found the tariffs to be legal, but has indicated USTR did not comply with rules on exclusion reviews. If the final ruling goes against USTR, the government will likely appeal, but, if a decision holds, tariff refunds could be ordered.
Additional information on the status of this case and outlook can be found here.
SFIA was very pleased with the favorable comments from the courts on the lawsuit challenging the USTR compliance rules for the China tariff exclusion process. The legal proceedings will continue, and there could be a ruling this spring that USTR violated the exclusion rules and refunds ordered. Regardless of the decision, an appeal is expected, which would delay any refunds. SFIA supports the court challenge to the Section 301 Tariffs on Chinese-made goods and will report on any developments.
For more information or for questions, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government & Public Affairs, at [email protected].
Washington, D.C. (Dec 2, 2022): The American economy and fragile supply chains avoided a disaster today when President Biden signed H.J.Res. 100 into law this morning to implement a Tentative Agreement the rail unions negotiated back in September. There are 12 unions representing America’s rail network – eight unions approved the contract and four rejected it. The main sticking point was the failure to include a week of paid sick leave in the contract.
“This is a huge win for SFIA, U.S. Businesses, Consumers, and the American economy,” said Bill Sells, SVP, Government & Public Affairs, SFIA. “As our nation continues to recover from the pandemic economy and related supply chain challenges, a rail strike would have been devastating.”
The Unions were united and committed to honoring the picket lines of their fellow rail unions when the cooling off-periods expired on December 9, effectively shutting down the U.S. Rail system. A rail stoppage would have frozen almost 30 percent of U.S. cargo shipments by weight, freight would have been stranded in ports with no rail to move it out, ships would be stuck in harbors unable to unload due to overloaded ports, truckers would not receive loads, agriculture goods would rot, and workers would be laid off. It was estimated a rail shutdown would cost the U.S. economy cost $2 billion a day.
SFIA and more than 400 groups representing American business interests sent a letter to Congress last week asking them to intervene under the Rail Labor Act and implement the Tentative Deal negotiated in September with the direct involvement of Labor Secretary Walsh. On Monday, the President met with the four Congressional Leaders from the House and Senate and requested they send him a bill to avert a rail strike. Congress acted with lightning quickness to pass a bipartisan bill in time to avoid any disruptions to the rail system.
Click here to read the full letter.
For more information or for questions, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government & Public Affairs, at [email protected].
Washington, D.C. (November 30, 2022): Despite being the “best friend the Unions ever had”, President Biden recognized the severe negative impact a rail strike would have on fragile supply chains and the economy at this critical time, and called the four top leaders in Congress to the White House to press for Congressional action under the Railway Labor Act to avoid a rail labor disruption. SFIA joined other business interests on a letter to Congressional leaders on Monday pressing for intervention to avoid a rail strike.
Today, with pressure from the White House, businesses, and industry, the House of Representatives passed an Emergency Resolution to implement the Tentative Agreement negotiated with rail unions and operators. The Resolution now will go to the Senate where it is expected to pass after debate. President Biden has indicated he will sign the Resolution to avoid a crippling nationwide rail strike as early as December 9th.
The labor contract was negotiated in September with the involvement of Labor Secretary Walsh to hammer out the final agreement. Eight of the 12 rail unions approved the contract, but four rejected it due to paid sick leave issues. All of the unions were prepared to strike in support of their fellow rail unions.
The rail strike being averted is good news for the already struggling supply chain.
Click here to read the full letter.
For more information or for questions, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government Relations & Public Affairs, at [email protected].
Washington, D.C. (November 28, 2022): As a rail strike looms, SFIA is pressing Congress to intervene. The Rail unions negotiated a contract in September to avoid a potential strike. With four of the rail unions now rejecting the contract, a rail strike could begin as early as December 9, 2022, when the cooling-off period ends.
Rail unions will tip their hand with moves prior to a strike via notifications on hazardous shipments (4-days notice), steps to limit congestion and impact at rail yards (2-3 days notice), holding of containers at customer locations (2-days notice), and cancelation/consolidation of trains (1-day notice).
Congress can intervene under the Railway Labor Act to extend the cooling-off period or implement Presidential Emergency Board recommendations to keep rails running. SFIA joined over 400 Trade Associations on a letter to Congress urging them to intervene in the strike to avoid any labor disruptions to the fragile supply chains. SFIA will continue to press for Congressional intervention in the dispute to ensure reliable supply chains.
Click here to read the full letter.
For more information or for questions, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government Relations & Public Affairs, at [email protected].
As required by law, the USTR is reviewing Section 301 Tariffs on products imported from China. As part of the process, USTR is seeking comments from interested parties on:
- The effectiveness of the tariffs in achieving the goals of the trade action
- Other actions or modifications that could be taken that would be more effective
- The effects on various aspects of the U.S. economy.
Comments will be accepted beginning on November 15, 2022 and the comment portal will close on January 17, 2023. The Federal Register notice on Section 301 tariff comments can be found here and USTR posted questions for the docket to provide guidance on Section 301 comment submissions.
Quick Background
Since former President Trump announced tariffs on Chinese imports in 2017, more than $300 billion in imports have been impacted. The Exclusion process to remove products from the tariff list was seriously flawed. An inspector general investigation found USTR did not offer explanations and justifications for denying exclusions for almost all consumer goods on List 3 & 4A. As a result, Section 301 tariffs have led to a quadrupling of the trade-weighted average tariff rate Americans pay for Chinese imports. USTR has promised a more transparent and consistent exclusion process but has been very slow in announcing it. The comments will guide USTR on Section 301 tariffs going forward.
Washington, D.C. (October 17, 2022) – The USTR announced the re-opening of the portal for manufacturers to submit comments on Section 301 Tariffs on Chinese imports.
Click here to learn more about what this means.
The USTR is accepting comments on Section 301 Tariffs until January 17, 2023. Please see the Federal Register notice on submission of Section 301 Tariff comments for additional information. SFIA will offer members the opportunity to file exclusion petitions should a new exclusion process be announced.
For more information, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government Relations & Public Affairs, at [email protected].
Washington, D.C.: October 4, 2022 – Today, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) joined 170 trade associations representing American business interests on a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Tai, requesting the renewal of expiring China exclusions and the creation of a robust exclusion process.
The letter shares that more than $155 billion in tariffs have been assessed on Chinese imports since the initiation of Section 301 tariffs. Studies have found the tariffs have not punished China, and the increased cost from it is largely passed on to consumers, adding to U.S. inflation concerns. Considering the supply chain challenges impacting product availability, these punitive tariffs only add to product costs at a time when the U.S. needs to be reducing them. The next major action on Section 301 Tariffs comes in November with many existing tariff exclusions scheduled to expire.
The group asks for an immediate extension of the expiring tariff relief and the opening of a more transparent, comprehensive exclusion process.
Click here to view the letter.
For more information, please contact Bill Sells, SVP Government Relations & Public Affairs, at [email protected].
July 25, 2022
The grand plan was to attach trade measures to a bill intended to ease the semiconductor shortage, using manufacturing subsidies and tax credits to increase domestic production. Congress could kill two birds with one stone – help the struggling domestic semiconductor industry and provide badly needed tariff relief to lower consumer costs. In the end, Congress kicked tariff relief down the road and will vote on just the semiconductor bill this week. Legislation to renew the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB), re-authorize the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, and re-open a transparent Section 301 exclusion process for Chinese imports will have to wait… again. All three tariff relief measures expired at the end of 2020 and have been awaiting Congressional action ever since.
Disagreements over human rights, environmental standards, and other issues slowed negotiations and ultimately led to Congress dropping the tariff relief provisions from the semiconductor bill. The final passage of a trimmed-down semiconductor manufacturing and science-focused economic competitiveness package is expected this week. The Tariff Relief measures will now be taken up in the fall. Complicating matters further, Democrats have renewed their push to pass a slimmed-down ‘Build Back Better’ package using Reconciliation to avoid the 60-vote requirement in the Senate. Reconciliation allows Democrats to move stalled portions of President Biden’s agenda through Congress with no Republican support. Republicans are not happy about the Democrats’ use of Reconciliation to approve their policy priorities and separating semiconductors from trade bills, but remain committed to renewing tariff relief programs. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the House Ways & Means Committee, made clear his desire to renew MTB and GSP:
Brady said he would continue talking with Democrats about how to advance trade provisions left out of the final chips bill, particularly the Generalized System of Preferences and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, two tariff exemption programs that have been expired for months. But there won’t be an agreement on Trade Adjustment Assistance, an aid program for victims of outsourcing, without Trade Promotion Authority to open new markets, he said.
With Congress set to vote on the semiconductor chip innovation and competitiveness bill this week, the negotiations to resolve differences on the MTB, GSP, China Exclusions, and other trade matters will continue through August. SFIA remains dedicated to securing tariff relief for member products and will continue to press Congress to get the job done.
For more information, please contact Bill Sells, SVP Government Relations & Public Affairs, at [email protected].