The United States Senate has approved an amendment to reinstate exclusions on the 25pc tariff on shredder wear parts under Section 301, noted the International Scrap Recycling Institute (ISRI).
The exclusions had expired on April 18, 2021, and the bill will also offer an opportunity to manufacturers to apply for refunds of paid tariffs since the expiry date.
ISRI reiterated on Thursday that the amendment will require the Biden administration to re-establish and improve the process of tariff exclusion requests from manufacturers. The institute, in collaboration with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), added that the government will also study the impact of these tariffs on shredders.
The association and ISRI lauded the legislation, however, both agree that there is more work to be done.
NAM had been advocating the inclusion of strategic trade priorities with China through Mike Crapo, member of the Senate Financing Committee and a bi-partisan representative.
- Here are the highlights of the bi-partisan agreement that were approved:
- – Automatically extend any expired tariff exclusions under Section 301 that the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) granted previously and to permit retroactive applications for recovery.
- – USTR must establish and maintain a process for exclusion requests from existing duties, with more specific details on criteria and reporting.
- – It should also analyze the impact of future tariffs under Section 301 on US manufacturers before implementing them, and establish and maintain a process for exclusion requests for those tariffs.
Additionally, the amendment included a new Section 71034, related to the release of a pending Government Accountability Office report to evaluate the current Section 301 tariff process. The USTR will have to brief Congress within 90 days of the report’s release on how it is responding to findings.