WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st November, 2018) Senator Elizabeth Warren in a letter to the Commerce Department said that most of the Trump administration's tariff exemptions have benefited foreign-owned entities to the detriment of US-based enterprises, the lawmaker's office said in a press release.
"Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to request information regarding the Commerce Department's tariff exemption process after a staff review found that the overwhelming majority of exemptions from President Trump's steel tariffs have gone to the US subsidiaries of foreign-owned companies rather than US-headquartered firms," the release said on Wednesday.
In March, as Trump unveiled plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on all steel imports the Commerce Department also launched an exemption process. Warren staffers analyzed a sample of 900 of more than 15,000 rulings which revealed that as of October 22, 81 percent of exemptions have gone to foreign-headquartered companies. In addition, Chinese-owned companies received 27 percent of all waiver approvals, according to the release.
"Overall, subsidiaries of Chinese-based companies seeking exemptions were successful in 94% of their requests," the release noted. "Requests for exemptions by American companies, on the other hand, were granted only 25% of the time."
The release also noted that despite Trump's tough criticism of trade practices by the governments of China and Japan, four out of five tariff exclusions in the first batch of exemptions were granted for US subsidiaries of companies headquartered in those countries.
Warren is requesting the Trump administration explain the loophole in its tariff exemption program by November 13, the release said.
China and the United States are currently engaged in a major trade war sparked by the Trump administration's decision to introduce steel and aluminum import duties. In addition to China, the EU, Canada, Mexico and Russia, among others, have filed challenges against US tariffs at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
