US companies, retailers and trade groups have urged the Office of the United States Trade Representative to drop proposed tariffs on 60 countries and regions that the agency alleges have failed to curb trade in goods made with forced labor, arguing the measure would disrupt supply chains and raise costs.
The deadline for written comments was Monday, with public hearings set for Tuesday through Thursday at the US International Trade Commission in Washington. By the deadline, the USTR had received at least 980 submissions, according to its website.
Many businesses warned that additional tariffs would disrupt supply chains and increase costs for importers, manufacturers and ultimately US consumers.
"Layering additional tariffs on products that are already subject to existing trade measures can create unnecessary cost burdens and supply chain complexity for US manufacturers," said Eve Duchene, an executive assistant at Modules Technology in San Jose, California.
"As a supplier of advanced multilayer bare printed circuit boards … we are concerned that cumulative tariff actions on critical industrial inputs can increase costs without creating practical near-term sourcing alternatives," she said.
