Economy

Business alarmed as Trump administration refuses exemptions for China tariffs

By Sean Higgins
Published October 25, 2018 9:21pm ET
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Business alarmed as Trump administration refuses exemptions for China tariffs
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer speaks at the 9th China Business Conference at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AmCham China are hosting the event. The U.S. has threatened to impose tariffs on $150 billion of Chinese goods in retaliation for what it argues are Beijing's unfair trade practices and its requirement that U.S. companies turn over technology in exchange for access to its market. China has said it would subject $50 billion of U.S. goods to tariffs if the U.S. taxes its products. A delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Lighthizer and trade adviser Peter Navarro will visit Beijing for negotiations later this week. | (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Business leaders and lawmakers are expressing alarm that the White House is apparently not allowing any exemptions to its latest round of China tariffs, which cover $200 billion worth of goods. The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office has yet to create a process for requesting exclusions to the levies, a contrast to previous rounds of tariffs.

“USTR has not issued a formal notice for an exemption process for list 3 [of tariffs] like it has done for lists 1 and 2 and no one in the business community has heard of any plans on their part to hold one,” Christin Fernandez, spokeswoman for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, told the Washington Examiner.

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China Commerce Robert Lighthizer Tariffs Trade USTR