By Hannah Zuckerman Scrap News

On March 23, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced its determination to reinstate certain previously granted and extended product exclusions in the China Section 301 Investigation. The determination reinstates the tariff exclusion on shredder wear parts, retroactive to Oct. 12, 2021, and extends the exclusion through Dec. 31, 2022. Shredder wear parts imported from China will not be assessed the additional 25% tariff during this period.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has advocated on behalf of its members and the industry since the Trump administration imposed the tariff in July 2018. USTR granted an exemption on April 18, 2019, and in 2020 the government allowed companies and organizations to request the continuation of the exemption for one year, which was granted to all that requested it.

In October 2021, when USTR invited public comments on whether to reinstate previously extended exclusions which included shredder wear parts, ISRI was quick to submit comments. The association explained why the exclusion for shredder wear parts should be reinstated and how the tariff has caused economic harm to U.S. small businesses, employment, manufacturing output, and critical supply chains.

Wear parts are essentially the heart of a shredder. But they need to be replaced almost daily, so having them in bulk is vital for U.S. recyclers.

Since more than 85% of shredder wear parts are sourced from China, and those costs amount to 60–70% of the cost of operations in this sector, the 25% tariff would make a huge difference—especially to smaller operators.

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