USTR Notice Confirms Tariffs Hike; TIA, Others Concerned
Tech and other groups are concerned that President Donald Trump’s threat to hike by 150 percent -- to 25 percent -- tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products is set to take effect Friday. An Office of U.S. Trade Representative…
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notice set for publication in Thursday’s Federal Register mandates that the rate hike will take effect 12:01 a.m. EDT Friday, turning Trump’s tweet (see 1905060028) into the force of law. USTR Robert Lighthizer ordered the rate hike at Trump’s direction, “in light of the lack of progress” in negotiations with the Chinese on a trade deal since March, said the notice. “In the most recent negotiations” last week in Beijing, “China has chosen to retreat from specific commitments agreed to in earlier rounds” of talks, it said. Details of a newly created exclusion process will be spelled out in a separate notice, said the document. The Telecommunications Industry Association is “greatly concerned” the administration “announced the imposition of an additional tax on imports to take effect with little advance notice,” said Cinnamon Rogers, senior vice president-government affairs. “The 25 percent duty as described will impact products essential to the functioning of our country's telecommunications networks, ultimately resulting in significant new costs for American consumers.”