AGC Comments, Urges Members to Comment on Proposal
May 17 marks the close of a three-day public hearing (May 15-17) into the Administration’s proposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods (1,333 products), including materials and equipment essential to carrying out construction projects. The proposed products listincludes: concrete or mortar mixers; electric signaling items for traffic or safety control; elevators and conveyors; tower cranes; tunneling machinery; and water pumps, among other products. In pre-hearing comments, AGC urged the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to strike construction-related products from the proposed list, and AGC is now encouraging member companies to submit post-hearing rebuttal comments before a May 22 deadline.
The tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods stem from the Administration’s investigation into China’s state-directed practice of forced technology transfers, intellectual property theft, and acts/policies threatening American innovation. This week’s hearings featured testimony from dozens of company executives, as well as representatives from USTR, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Treasury.
On Wednesday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch tamped down hopes that the Administration would abandon these proposed tariffs, saying, “We can't let them do some of these things that really fly in the face of reasonable international law without some sort of response by us.” If Hatch is correct and the Administration carries out its planned tariffs, as many as 23,468 construction jobs could be at risk according to a new study jointly published by the National Retail Federation and the Consumer Technology.
For more information, contact Collin Janich at [email protected] or (703) 837-5435.