WASHINGTON, D.C., (December 16, 2021) — Today, Americans for Free Trade, a broad coalition of American businesses, trade organizations, and workers united against tariffs, submitted a statement for the record following the recent House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Trade’s hearing regarding U.S. competitiveness with China.
“On behalf of the undersigned members of Americans for Free Trade, we thank the Subcommittee on Trade for holding an important hearing on U.S. competitiveness issues with China,” Americans for Free Trade wrote. “We believe it is critical that Congress not only examine how our trade tools can help improve U.S. economic competitiveness, but also act to relieve the burden the trade war has placed on American businesses, workers, manufacturers, farmers, and families.”
The full text of the letter may be found here and below.
December 16, 2021
The Honorable Earl Blumenauer
Chairman
House Ways & Means Subcommittee On Trade
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Vern Buchanan
Ranking Member
House Ways & Means Subcommittee On Trade
Washington, DC 20515
RE: Trade Subcommittee Hearing on Supporting U.S. Workers, Businesses, and the Environment in the Face of Unfair Chinese Trade Practices
Dear Chairman Blumenauer and Ranking Member Buchanan:
On behalf of the undersigned members of Americans for Free Trade, we thank the Subcommittee on Trade for holding an important hearing on U.S. competitiveness issues with China. We believe it is critical that Congress not only examine how our trade tools can help improve U.S. economic competitiveness, but also act to relieve the burden the trade war has placed on American businesses, workers, manufacturers, farmers, and families.
By way of background, Americans for Free Trade represents every part of the U.S. economy including manufacturers, farmers and agribusinesses, retailers, technology companies, service suppliers, natural gas and oil companies, importers, exporters, and other supply chain stakeholders. Collectively, we employ tens of millions of Americans through our vast supply chains.
In advance of the Subcommittee’s hearing, our coalition sent a letter signed by more than 175 organizations urging Congress to pass legislation that would help make the U.S. more competitive, ease financial burdens on American businesses and consumers, and help address rising concerns over inflation. Specifically, we called upon Congress to pass legislation: (1) requiring the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to establish a Section 301 China tariffs exclusion process that is broadly available for all products subject to the tariffs, not just those products that received an exclusion expiring in December 2020; and (2) providing retroactivity for exclusions that expired, as well as retroactivity for all COVID-19-response product exclusions dating back to the start of the pandemic. We reiterate our strong support for such legislative action and urge Congress to move quickly.
Additionally, we urge Congress to request that the Administration conduct an economic analysis of all positive and negative effects on the United States economy of the Section 301 China tariffs. This should include the effects on United States workers, businesses, and consumers and an analysis of the benefits of such tariffs providing sufficient trade leverage on the PRC, in comparison to these tariffs’ harm to the United States economy.[1] This analysis should require the Administration to meaningfully engage with all stakeholders – especially those paying the tariffs, and the results should be made public.
Finally, we continue to call for negotiated solutions to end the trade war and elimination of the additional punitive tariffs on U.S. companies as well as China’s retaliatory tariffs. These tariffs have cost U.S. companies $113 billion and hit American businesses and consumers – not the Chinese – hardest. And as the Subcommittee heard clearly from the testimony given by Clete Willems – a former Trump Administration official intimately acquainted with the Section 301 China tariffs – these harmful tariffs were never meant to be permanent as a matter of policy or legally under the statute.[2] We agree with Mr. Willems that the Biden Administration must ask itself whether the tariffs have achieved their stated goal. We believe that in asking this question honestly, the Administration will discover that the answer is a resounding “no”. It is past time to rethink the U.S. approach to addressing China’s unfair trade practices and deploy tools that do not disproportionately harm American businesses, workers, and consumers.
We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to address the ongoing negative impact that these tariffs continue to have on American businesses, American workers, and American consumers. Until the tariffs are fully removed, reinstituting a broadly-available, fair and transparent exclusion process will provide a targeted relief mechanism that will help U.S. businesses recover from the economic recession and continue to invest in their businesses and workers here at home.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Accessories Council
ACT | The App Association
Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC)
ALMA, International (Association of Loudspeaker Manufacturing and Acoustics)
American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA)
American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI)
American Association of Port Authorities
American Bakers Association
American Bridal & Prom Industry Association (ABPIA)
American Chemistry Council
American Coatings Association, Inc. (ACA)
American Down and Feather Council
American Fly Fishing Trade Association
American Home Furnishings Alliance
American Lighting Association
American Petroleum Institute
American Pyrotechnics Association
American Rental Association
American Seed Trade Association
American Specialty Toy Retailing Association
American Trucking Associations
American Wind Energy Association
Arizona Technology Council
Arkansas Grocers and Retail Merchants Association
Association For Creative Industries
Association for PRINT Technologies
Association of American Publishers
Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)
Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers
Auto Care Association
Beer Institute
Business Alliance for Customs Modernization
California Bottled Water Association
California Retailers Association
Carolina Loggers Association
Central States Bottled Water Association
Chemical Industry Council of Delaware (CICD)
Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT)
Coalition of Services Industries (CSI)
Colorado Retail Council
Columbia River Customs Brokers and Forwarders Assn.
Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)
Consumer Brands Association
Consumer Technology Association
Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)
CropLife America
Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Assn. of Washington State
Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders of Northern California
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
Electronic Transactions Association
Energy Workforce & Technology Council
Experiential Designers and Producers Association
Fashion Accessories Shippers Association (FASA)
Fashion Jewelry & Accessories Trade Association
Flexible Packaging Association
Florida Ports Council
Florida Retail Federation
Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA)
Fragrance Creators Association
Game Manufacturers Association
Gemini Shippers Association
Georgia Retailers
Global Business Alliance
Global Chamber®
Global Cold Chain Alliance
Greeting Card Association
Halloween Industry Association
Home Fashion Products Association
Home Furnishings Association
Household and Commercial Products Association
Idaho Retailers Association
Illinois Retail Merchants Association
Independent Office Products & Furniture Dealers Association (IOPFDA)
Indiana Retail Council
Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA)
International Bottled Water Association (IBWA)
International Foodservice Distributors Association
International Housewares Association
International Warehouse and Logistics Association
International Wood Products Association
ISSA – The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association
Jeweler’s Vigilance Committee
Juice Products Association (JPA)
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
Leather and Hide Council of America
Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association
Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Assn.
Louisiana Retailers Association
Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association
Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association
Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay
Maryland Retailers Association
Methanol Institute
Michigan Chemistry Council
Michigan Retailers Association
Minnesota Retailers Association
Missouri Retailers Association
Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association
Motorcycle Industry Council
NAPIM (National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers)
National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS)
National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD)
National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ)
National Association of Home Builders
National Association of Music Merchants
National Association of Printing Ink
Manufacturers
National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM)
National Confectioners Association
National Council of Chain Restaurants
National Customs Brokers and Freight
Forwarders Association of America
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
National Fisheries Institute
National Foreign Trade Council
National Grocers Association
National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association
National Marine Manufacturers Association
National Restaurant Association
National Retail Federation
National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association
National Sporting Goods Association
Natural Products Association
New Jersey Retail Merchants Association
North American Association of Uniform
Manufacturers and Distributors (NAUMD)
North Carolina Retail Merchants Association
Ohio Council of Retail Merchants
Outdoor Industry Association
Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Assns. Inc.
Pennsylvania Retailers’ Association
PeopleforBikes
Personal Care Products Council
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council
Plumbing Manufacturers International
Power Tool Institute (PTI)
Promotional Products Association International
Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association
Retail Association of Maine
Retail Council of New York State
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Retailers Association of Massachusetts
RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment)
RV Industry Association
San Diego Customs Brokers and Forwarders Assn.
SEMI
Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)
Snowsports Industries America
Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA)
South Atlantic Bottled Water Association
South Dakota Retailers Association
Specialty Equipment Market Association
Specialty Vehicle Institute of America
Sports & Fitness Industry Association
TechNet
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
Texas Retailers Association
Texas Water Infrastructure Network
The Airforwarders Association
The Fertilizer Institute
The Hardwood Federation
The Toy Association
The Vinyl Institute
Travel Goods Association
Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA)
United States Council for International Business
United States Fashion Industry Association
US Global Value Chain Coalition
US-China Business Council
Virginia Retail Merchants Association
Virginia-DC District Export Council (VA-DC DEC)
Washington Retail Association
Window and Door Manufacturers Association
World Pet Association, Inc. (WPA)
CC: Members of the House Ways & Means Committee
[1] See, e.g., Section 202(3) of H.R. 6114, the “U.S. Trade Leadership in the Indo-Pacific and China Act”; Explanatory Statement for Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2022 at p. 176.
[2] Written Testimony of Clete R. Willems before the Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee, December 2, 2021 (“However, per the statute, Section 301 tariffs are not meant to be permanent and should be revisited over time to assess whether they are still helping the U.S. Government achieve its goals.”)