By David Lawder and David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A host of pro-trade U.S. business groups have asked the Biden administration for another month to comment on plans to impose higher tariffs on Chinese imports of electric vehicles, batteries, solar products and others goods, effectively postponing August imports. . 1 start date for many of the tasks.
The group of 173 trade associations, organized under the umbrella of “American For Free Trade,” said in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Office seen by Reuters on Friday that a 30-day extension in a public comment period until July 28 was “publicly ‘. interest”
The group, which represents manufacturers, retailers, technology companies, agribusiness groups, energy companies and transportation companies, also requested that USTR hold a public hearing on the issue, as it did in 2017 and 2018 on previous tariffs.
President Joe Biden announced the tariff increases last month to protect U.S. manufacturers in strategic sectors from Chinese excess industrial capacity flooding global markets with exports. USTR then announced a brief 30-day public comment period, quadrupling tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to more than 100% and doubling semiconductor duties to 50%, expected to start on August 1.
“We are actively surveying our collective membership to gather feedback on the expected impact of the proposed (rate) changes and document them in a manner most useful to USTR,” the groups said in the letter, dated July 6 and filed at the USTR. comment portal.
However, “our members have indicated that they need additional time to gather and review such information given” the breadth of the 387 higher duty product categories and the submission format.
A USTR spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on the group’s request.
News of the request comes as another policy group led by the United Steelworkers Union and domestic manufacturing companies called for even stronger trade barriers on Chinese imports. The Alliance for American Manufacturing said the U.S. should restore a long-expired legal tool to halt Chinese import increases that came about when China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Among the groups that signed the letter were the Semiconductor Industry Association, the Information Technology Industry Council, the American Chemistry Council, the Beer Institute, the National Retail Federation, the Halloween and Costume Association and the American Trucking Association.
The signatories included auto and truck parts associations, but not trade groups representing auto and EV makers.
Many of the groups use and sell goods imported from China, and they said in the letter that they employ tens of millions of U.S. countries through “vast supply chains.”
(Reporting by David Lawder and David Shepardson)
