Joint Association China 301 Tariff Research Survey
Joint Association Note to Members
Subject: Joint Association China 301 Tariffs Research Survey – Your Input Needed
On behalf of AAFA, FDRA, NRF, RILA and USFIA, we are asking association members to participate in a research survey regarding an Assessment of the Economic Effects of the Section 301 Tariffs Applied to Imports from China of Apparel, Footwear, Travel Goods and Furniture.
The associations have contracted with Trade Partnership Worldwide LLC (TPW) to prepare a research paper examining the direct and indirect effects on U.S. importers, domestic and foreign producers (including China), U.S. workers and families of the Section 301 tariffs applied to imports from China. We are specifically focusing on the following product categories – apparel, footwear, travel goods and furniture. The associations intend to submit the study compiled from this research as a supplement to the comments each association will be submitting to USTR as part of the agency’s four-year review of the China 301 tariffs. To the extent that you are working on additional information for your respective associations, we encourage you to continue doing so. In other words, this study is intended to be additive and not to supplant individual association comments.
The research study will focus on the following key areas:
- The role tariffs played in shifting trade from China to other foreign suppliers (the impacts on global supply chains).
- The higher costs imposed by the tariffs on U.S. consumers, including tariff burdens as well as non-tariff costs associated with seeking out new suppliers.
- The failure of the tariffs to increase business for U.S. producers (where we have data), showing that very little apparel, footwear, or furniture goods sourcing came back to the United States (we do not have domestic shipments data for travel goods).
- Based on failure to shift sourcing back to the United States, the failure of the tariffs to positively impact U.S. workers.
- The disproportionate impacts the tariffs have had on low-income, minority and female consumers.
In order to help develop the research paper, we are asking members to participate in the research survey. All of the responses will be aggregated. Companies will not be identified with their responses. We will use some of the information to provide anecdotal stories, without identifying specific companies.
Please take a moment to fill out the survey by December 15. The team will need some time to digest the survey results and prepare the research paper in order to file comments with USTR by the January 17 deadline.
If you have any questions, please let us know. Thank you in advance for your participation.