WC Wisconsin News

With many lawmakers urging U.S. trade officials to enable American businesses to seek relief from the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, United States Trade Rep. Katherine Tai is now moving in that direction. 

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) had been leading the charge in pushing Tai and the Biden administration to develop an exclusion process on the tariffs as part of trade relations between China and the U.S. 

“I also share @POTUS’s view that the U.S. must do more to work with allies to better address the challenges posed by China and other non-market economies,” Kind said on Twitter. “I look forward to working with the administration to support Wisconsin’s workers and economy, and ensure our manufacturers, businesses and producers have an opportunity to request relief from 301 tariffs as this new exclusion process is implemented.”  

According to the PCB website, the 301 tariffs are named after Section of the Trade Act, which requires U.S. importers to pay a tariff on products that are made in China, an unpopular tariff with many smaller and mid-size domestic businesses.

Despite support from Kind and other lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Politico reported that it isn’t likely that the Biden administration will lift all Section 301 tariffs. Instead, it would look at those doing the most harm to the economy. 

In April, Kind was at the head of a bipartisan group of more than 100 members of Congress asking Tai to enact a new exclusion process, according to a news release from Kind. They noted that many businesses were still reeling from the impact of the pandemic. He noted in the release that many critical exclusions had expired on Dec. 31, 2020, creating additional financial issues for many businesses already feeling the pinch.