Republican Senators Ask for No New Tariffs, More Generous Section 301 Exclusions and No Buy American for COVID-19 Response
The Senate Finance Committee chairman, joined by 11 other Senate Republicans, is asking President Donald Trump to consider a total moratorium on new or raised tariffs, as well as examining how tariffs and import and export restrictions specific to medical supplies can be tackled. They praised the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for excluding some medical supplies from Section 301 tariffs since the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic spread to the U.S., but said a wider review should be done to make sure none remain. And they encouraged him to coordinate with other countries that have imposed export restrictions in response to COVID-19, so that there aren't cost increases and “critical supply shortages.”
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On the U.S. side, they asked him not to impose a “Buy American” executive order for federal purchasers of drugs and supplies related to the pandemic. “We simply cannot risk paralyzing an utterly critical supply chain at this point in time,” wrote Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., along with Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Pat Roberts, R-Kan.; Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; John Thune, R-S.D.; Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; Tim Scott, R-S.C.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Todd Young, R-Ind.; and Ben Sasse, R-Neb.
With regard to the exclusions on Section 301 tariffs outside the medical goods, the March 25 letter said USTR should consider reopening the process for existing tariffs, so those that were denied exclusions can have a chance to reapply, and so those companies that didn't apply before can do so. For those that received exclusions, “automatically extending tariff exemptions for another year could eliminate added costs during a period of economic unrest for many businesses and consumers,” they said.