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.