With the Shanghai lockdown currently impacting supply chains in China, the ripple effect will be felt across the globe in the future. To help address shipping challenges, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) joined forces with a broad spectrum of industries to request that Congress move quickly to improve and complete work on a final version of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) for greater stability and predictability in shipping policies and supply chains.
Of primary concern are:
- Minimum service standards for ocean carriers
- Certification for detention and demurrage charges
- Prohibition on declining export bookings
- Providing the facilities and instrumentalities to perform transport services
- 3rd party intervention in Federal Maritime Commission actions related to anticompetitive conduct
SFIA has signed on to a letter to Congress requesting swift action on the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) to help address problems identified during the COVID supply chain crisis. Click here for a copy of the letter.
For more information please contact Bill Sells, SVP of Government & Public Affairs, at bsells@sfia.org.
To help reduce the costs of getting products into the U.S. stream of commerce, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) joined a coalition of 176 American businesses, trade organizations, and workers on a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai requesting a fully transparent review of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese made products. The March 29th coalition letter expressed a strong desire for the review process to include a comprehensive economic assessment of the tariff’s impact on the U.S. economy. The group seeks stakeholder inclusion in the review process and asks USTR to conduct a review of all four Lists (1, 2, 3, & 4A) to ensure a complete assessment of the Section 301 Tariffs. It is estimated the government has collected more than $176 Billion in Section 301 tariffs since they were implemented.
Click here to review the letter.
On March 17, 2022, the San Pedro Bay Ports announced a new fee to help attain their goal of zero-emissions ports by 2035. Starting April 1, 2022, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will collect a $10 fee on 20-foot containers entering or leaving the container terminals. The ports are expected to generate $10 million per month from the fee for the “Clean Truck Fund” (CTF). The announcement did not indicate what the CTF money would be used for but they expect the CTF to incentive the changeover to cleaner trucks and expedite the introduction of zero-emission technology in trucking fleets.
Zero-emission trucks entering or leaving the port will be exempt from the CTF. Zero and low-emission trucks must be registered with the port and undergo a one-time inspection to receive an exemption from the CTF. The ports will use PortCheck to collect fees. Trucks must be registered with PortCheck to pay the fee prior to picking up or dropping off containers starting April 1.
For more information please contact Bill Sells, SVP of Government & Public Affairs, at bsells@sfia.org.
SFIA recently joined other business interests on a letter seeking government intervention, if needed, to avoid west coast labor stoppages during negotiations between west coast ports and labor unions. Past history suggests labor issues will arise as the deadline for a new agreement nears, and U.S. businesses cannot afford an unnecessary and avoidable disruption in supply chains, as the U.S. continues to recover from the pandemic.
Separately, SFIA joined businesses in support of California Bill AB 2406 to combat unreasonable detention and demurrage charges at California ports.
SFIA seeks to ensure a favorable market for its members and supports efforts to reduce the cost of getting sports and fitness products to market.
Date: 2/1/22
On February 1st, SFIA joined other industries on a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy requesting inclusion of a more transparent Section 301 Tariff Exclusion process for Chinese-made products. To date Customs and Border Patrol has assessed over $126.5 billion in tariffs on U.S. companies importing products from China. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of the original Exclusion process under former President Trump found irregularities, inconsistencies and lack of justification for exclusion rejections. The GAO recommended a more transparent Exclusion process in the future to ensure fair consideration of requests. The Senate passed legislation, The U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act, included language to re-open a more transparent Exclusion process and the letter makes the case for the House to follow the Senate’s plan.
After an 8 month review of U.S.-China Trade policy, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai announced the tariffs on Chinese-made products will continue as the Biden Administration negotiates compliance with the Phase One deal, and looks to address additional concerns. In an October 4 speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Tai also included some good news – the USTR will re-open a more transparent process for seeking exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs.
The U.S. Trade Representative noted China has failed to meet its obligations under the Phase One deal, and must comply before the tariffs can be removed. Tai made it clear that the goal is to “defend the interests of America’s workers, businesses, farmers and producers, and strengthen our middle class”. The USTR added that the U.S. continues “to have serious concerns with China’s state-centered and non-market trade practices that were not addressed in the Phase One deal” and the administration will raise these concerns with China.
On the Exclusion process, USTR Tai stated her office would launch a “targeted tariff exclusion process,” though she did not provide further details on the start date or eligible products. Notably, USTR Tai raised the possibility of future product exclusions as well, confirming that the administration will “keep open the potential for additional exclusion processes, as warranted.” She added that the USTR will seek to “ensure current Section 301 tariffs align appropriately with our economic priorities, such as boosting American workers’ wages and job opportunities, securing the resilience of critical supply chains, sustaining our technological edge, and protecting our national security interests” in evaluating exclusion requests. USTR will put a lot of weight on what U.S. businesses say about their ability to source goods from countries other than China.
SFIA will continue to monitor USTR on the new Exclusion process and assist companies interested in pursuing exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs and petition the government for relief as more information becomes available.
Please contact Bill Sells, SFIA SVP for Government and Public Affairs at bsells@sfia.org for additional information.
Congress moved a step closer to providing overdue tariff relief to manufacturers via three popular programs when the Senate passed legislation to renew the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB), reauthorize the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and re-open the Section 301 Exclusion process for products imported from China. All three programs lapsed at the end of 2020 despite pressure from industry to renew.
The United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (S.1260) now awaits action in the House of Representatives before going to the President for his signature. Any House changes to the bill will require a favorable Senate vote before going to the President. Congress has been consumed with COVID, Infrastructure and Reconciliation, but will look to move tariff relief as they move forward.
The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) provides tariff relief on products not made domestically. SFIA filed petitions requesting relief on behalf of the industry and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) included 86 SFIA petitions in their August 2020 recommendations to Congress. 66 petitions sought renewal of previous MTB relief and 20 seek new tariff relief. Petitions are capped at $500,000 in annual relief for a potential $43 million in industry tariff relief per year.
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program offers duty-free entry for products made in 102 countries with developing economies. Gloves and bags are the industry’s biggest beneficiaries of GSP to avoid tariffs as high as 17 percent. The U.S. is expected to add stronger human rights and environmental requirements for country eligibility going forward. The GSP was last renewed in 2018 and the Senate bill would renew the GSP through 2027.
77 percent of more than 53,000 Section 301 Exclusion requests were denied with an even higher rejection rate for consumer goods on List 3 & List 4A. Businesses requested help from Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) launched an investigation that found numerous irregularities. USTR routinely gave no explanations for denying requests, failed to properly document its procedures when making exclusion decisions and was hesitant to provide additional information to justify decisions. The Trade act of 2021 would reinstate the China Exclusion process and require the USTR to implement a new, more transparent exclusion process to ensure a consistent granting of exclusions.
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Trade Act of 2021 as part of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S.1260) in June to reopen China Exclusion process, renew the MTB and reauthorize the GSP but the House has yet to bring up the bill. SFIA continues to press Congress to renew this lapsed tariff relief.
Please contact Bill Sells, SFIA SVP for Government and Public Affairs at bsells@sfia.org for additional information.
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program is a 50 year old trade program to help countries with developing economies by eliminating US import tariffs on products made in GSP eligible countries. SFIA members are currently making products, including bags and gloves, in GSP eligible countries.
The GSP requires Congressional renewal every three years and has traditionally been approved with broad bipartisan support. The GSP expired on December 31, 2020 and while the Senate passed legislation to renew GSP in June, the House has yet to vote on GSP renewal. SFIA encourages companies interested in GSP renewal to join SFIA in signing onto letter requesting renewal of the GSP program.
PLEASE CLICK HERE to add your name to the GSP letter.
Please contact Bill Sells, SFIA SVP for Government and Public Affairs at bsells@sfia.org for additional information.
The U.S. Department of Commerce in New Zealand is helping TheMarket.com, an online platform in New Zealand, to expand its inventory of well-known U.S. sports equipment brands. TheMarket.com has prepared this trade lead form to both introduce itself and to help identify the products it knows will fit best with its New Zealand consumers.
This is a new opportunity to expand your footprint in New Zealand.
Please contact Janet Coulthart Janet.Coulthart@trade.gov with the U.S. Commercial Service in Wellington, New Zealand if you’d like to be introduced to TheMarket.com.
Date: 12/9/21
As Congress works to wrap up business for the year, the heat is on to pass lapsed tariff relief programs – the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). These popular programs provide manufacturers tariff relief on products no longer made in the U.S. GSP allows for duty free import of eligible products from 120 countries with developing economies. Both programs expired at the end of 2020.
The Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act to renew the programs in July, but the House has failed to act. There is reason for optimism on action as Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Chairman of the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Trade, raised renewal of the programs during a December 2 hearing on China Trade. Chairman Blumenauer said the programs need to be renewed with changes while Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL), the Subcommittee’s top republican, made renewal of the tariff programs an “urgent priority” in the effort to compete with China. Combined, MTB and GSP offer 100s of millions in potential tariff relief for SFIA member products.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce followed up a letter sent to Congressional leaders pushing for renewal of the MTB and reauthorization of the GSP in year-end legislation. The Chamber noted that failure to act on these tariff relief programs will lead toa loss of sales and jobs for Americans as we struggle to recover from the pandemic.
The Chamber pointed out that companies pay an additional $1.3 million per day due to the out-of-date and anticompetitive import tariffs on products and inputs no longer made in the U.S. They also highlighted that the MTB is not controversial, it was unanimously renewed in 2018. The U.S. International Trade Commission recommended 88 SFIA petitions for approval and the Senate included all of them in in the Senate-passed legislation to renew the MTB. SFIA members could receive up to $44 million in tariff relief annually via the MTB program.
The GSP offers duty free access to the U.S. market for more than 5,000 products produced in qualified countries with developing economies to spur economic growth and job creation. GSP products typically do not compete with domestic manufacturers. U.S. companies are paying an additional $1.3 million per day due to the out-of-date and anticompetitive import tariffs on products and inputs no longer made in the U.S.
The National Association of Manufacturers added that many GSP beneficiaries are small businesses, employing fewer than 20 employees, and GSP offers them significant savings to help their competitiveness. A majority of GSP imports are raw materials, parts. and components relied upon by U.S. companies to produce goods domestically, and increased costs harm their competitiveness. It is estimated that the lapsed GSP program is costing U.S. companies more than a $1 billion annually.
The easiest solution is for the House to approve Senate-passed legislation, which provides for limited retroactive relief. The current discussion is related to changes in the GSP eligibility, which could complicate issues and require a House-Senate Conference to reconcile any differences in the bills. Regardless of the process to get these programs renewed, there is general agreement on the need to act on these popular tariff relief programs.
Congress has a full agenda before adjourning for the year, but there will be multiple opportunities to renew MTB and reauthorize the GSP before Congress leaves town. If they fail to act, MTB and GSP will be a top priority early in 2022.
For more information on MTB and GSP please contact Bill Sells, SFIA SVP of Government & Public Affairs bsells@sfia.org.
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US Chamber of Commerce
https://www.uschamber.com/international/trade-agreements/u-s-chamber-letter-on-trade-legislation
Letter (note it is from Dec 2020) but last industry letter on subject) https://www.uschamber.com/international/trade-agreements/u-s-chamber-letter-on-trade-legislation