Minnesota company deluges US with over 10K tariff appeals
U.S. companies have filed tens of thousands of requests for exemptions from $200 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by the Trump administration a year ago, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Over 10,000 of the 16,000 requests filed are coming from Arrowhead Engineered Products Inc. The Minnesota-based company is North America’s largest aftermarket supplier of nondiscretionary parts, importing thousands of repair parts for cars, lawn mowers, all-terrain vehicles and other items from China.
The auto parts seller is now caught in the crosshairs of the trade war which has threatened global economic growth as it sees no viable alternatives to the parts it imports from China. Now, amid the prolonged battle, the company is now seeking relief from the import duties that have "undermined Arrowhead’s business model of selling cheaper alternatives to manufacturers’ parts" according to the WSJ, citing company officials.
Arrowhead has not immediately reponded to FOX Business request for comment.
The trade quarrel between the world’s two largest economies began in July 2018 when the U.S. imposed a tariff on certain Chinese imports. Since then, both countries have raised tariffs worth billions of dollars on each other’s imports.
“We basically put everything else on the back burner” to appeal the tariffs, said John Mosunic, Arrowhead’s chief operating officer told the WSJ.
The parts the company imports are currently being taxed at 25 percent, and the tariff is expected to jump to 30 percent on Oct. 15.
In order to streamline the appeals process, Arrowhead contacted the office of Rep. Tom Emmer, R., Minn., and was told to be as specific as possible when seeking exemptions, according to the WSJ. In following the advice, Arrowhead filed appeals for each part it imports including but not limited to gaskets, air filters, spark plugs, according to Mosunic, adding that the company had to hire a temporary crew to submit the requests manually.
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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, according to the WSJ, is expected to evaluate appeals individually to see whether a product is only available from China and if the tariffs would harm the company significantly.
U.S. and China are expected to negotiate next month. Despite that, both countries either imposed or increased penalties on billions of dollars of goods earlier this month. President Donald Trump plans another increase Dec. 15, and China is ready to retaliate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.