According to foreign media reports, the "American Free Trade Association," composed of 173 trade associations, stated in a letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative that the public comment period should be extended by another 30 days until July 28. This means that the policy to impose tariffs on solar cells and other products imported from China, originally scheduled to take effect on August 1, will be delayed.
Moreover, the American Free Trade Association is requesting that the Office of the United States Trade Representative hold a public hearing on this matter. On May 14, the U.S. government announced the imposition of additional tariffs on products from several industries. President Biden stated that in order to protect American manufacturing, tariffs on Chinese solar cells and modules would be increased from 25% under Section 301 to 50%.
Subsequently, the Office of the United States Trade Representative indicated that the significant tariffs on a series of imported Chinese products would take effect on August 1. At the same time, however, another organization group led by the United Steelworkers and domestic manufacturing enterprises is calling for higher trade barriers on imported products from China.
This organization is advocating for the reinstatement of the long-expired "import surge" protection measures, which were created in 2001 when China joined the World Trade Organization, an event that enabled China to become a major global exporter. The Alliance for American Manufacturing stated that as new industries like electric vehicles, solar, and semiconductors face new threats from import surges, and with ongoing surges in industries like steel, glass, and tires, Section 421 should be reinstated and modernized.
The so-called Section 421 safeguards are designed to allow the U.S. to impose temporary tariffs, and were proposed by the U.S. in 2001 to address market changes caused by the surge of low-cost Chinese manufactured products. Currently, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has not responded to the requests from either organization.
Source：DateBM
