ACD Press Release

NACD Members Testify at USTR Hearings Regarding Proposed Tariffs on Imported Chinese Goods 

This week, members of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) testified in front of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) highlighting the negative impact that the 25 percent proposed Section 301 tariffs on goods imported from China will have on their businesses and the chemical distribution industry as a whole. 

NACD members Jessica Fegan of Connection Chemical and John Logue of Royale Pigments & Chemicals expressed their concerns about the proposed List 3 tariffs and highlighted the potential impact the proposed tariffs on approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese products will have on their businesses. 

In her testimony, Fegan said, “While an additional 10 percent tariff on these items will be costly and burdensome, a 25 percent tariff has the ability to be devastating and irreparable to certain industries and businesses. By adding unnecessary costs to the manufacturing process, these additional tariffs will undermine the growth this administration promised, industry has been yearning for, and just recently began experiencing.”

Later in the week, Logue testified, “Section 301 tariffs will significantly harm our ability to compete and may eventually put us out of business. The result of this proposal will be to help our rivals in moving their production up the value chain by enacting tariffs that not only harm importers but substantially raise costs for our critically important domestic manufactures.”

Regarding the proposed tariffs, NACD President Eric R. Byer said, “Placing a 25 percent tariff on hundreds of products NACD members import regularly from China will have a significant and negative impact on their ability to maintain growth and provide high-paying jobs. While addressing China’s unfair trade practices is an important endeavor, we urge USTR to rethink their approach and use alternative measures to level the playing field without harming America’s job creators.”

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