The industry that produces bulk paper was the big winner in exclusions to Chinese tariffs announced Friday by the U.S. trade representative’s office. The largest single area of items made tariff-free were the parts for paper manufacturing machines.
The American Forest and Paper Association got approval for exclusions of at least nine items it requested from the administration, according to data released by USTR and posted in the Federal Register. The items were originally meant to be hit with 25 percent tariffs levied by the Trump administration against $34 billion in Chinese products.
The exclusions covered several components such as frameworks, rollers, and scrapers for paper machines and will be retroactively applied as of the July 6, 2018, the date tariffs were enacted.
Only two dozen items total were excluded, though USTR said it would “continue to issue decisions on pending requests on a periodic basis.”
The USTR’s list singles out items with a high level of specificity. One was for “stretchers of stainless steel, designed to move rollers of papermaking machines to adjust tension of fabric, each with a pivoting arm with an actuator, linear rail movement with an actuator and front and back units with mounting holes for tube roll bearing housings.”
Overall the Trump administration has hit $250 billion worth of Chinese products with tariffs. It has allowed companies and trade associations to object to particular items included in the first $50 billion worth of products and granted exclusions on a case-by-case basis. The administration has not created a process for requesting exemptions from the remaining $200 billion worth of goods.
To be excluded, a product has to be shown to be only available from China, to have no comparable product available domestically, and to be unrelated to Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” industrial policy. No other factors are considered, a USTR spokeswoman said.
The USTR held three public hearings in May relating to $34 billion in products. It received approximately 1,000 exclusion requests.
A staffer for the American Forest and Paper Association said most of its workers were on vacation and spokesperson was not available.
