USHSLA expects tariffs to kick in quickly after consultation
04/09/2018
Under the proposals, imports to the US of Chinese goods worth approximately $200 billion per year will be subject to tariffs as high as 25%. If the US decides to carry out its threat, it will retaliate by imposing tariffs of between 5% and 25% on around $60 billion worth of US exports.
Mr Lighthizer’s office has been running a process of public consultation on the proposals, which is set to close on September 7. USHSLA has said it believes President Trump will direct his administration to levy the tariffs once the public-comment period concludes. Products that feature on the list that China will target in retaliation include US hides, skins and leather products.
In its letter to the trade representative, USHSLA pointed out that China imported US wet blue, cattle hides, pigskins and other leather products worth a total of $1 billion in 2017, more than 50% of the total value to the US of these products. “For these by-products of the US meat industry,” USHSLA said, “China is not just an important market, it is an essential market.”
It also pointed out that US suppliers have competitors in Brazil, the European Union and Australia that will gladly move in to snap up the business of Chinese tanners.
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