Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/18/19

Hundreds of trade groups and businesses are pleading with the Trump administration to spare them from the president's plan to hit $300 billion in Chinese goods with up to 25 percent tariffs.

More than 1,600 comments have been filed and 300 witnesses are expected to testify over the next week at USTR's ongoing public meeting on the proposed duties. Among the critics of Trump's tariff plan are several food and farm equipment groups:

Fishy business: A handful of seafood groups are scheduled to testify today. Alaska lawmakers have already asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to keep Pacific cod and salmon off the list of tariffed goods. (Many of the fish caught by Alaskans in U.S. waters are deboned and filleted in China, so the duties would hit the state's fisherman.)

Farm supplies: Ken Strait, a vice president at Tractor Supply Company, said the company operates 1,800 stores in rural small towns and is "often the only source of affordable farm and ranch products in these communities." In a written comment to USTR, Strait said new duties on Chinese products like log-splitters, steel-toe work boots and flashlights would "directly and adversely affect the families that can't afford to pay more for the items they need on a daily basis."

Hummus-maker Sabra Dipping Company and other food processorswant pine nuts removed from the list of goods that would face a 25 percent tariff.

The Tea Association of the USA asked USTR to remove black and green teas, as well as instant tea and extracts, from the target list, noting that there's virtually no tea grown in the U.S., "nor are there any farm-based jobs that would be protected" by the duties.
Hatco Corp., a food service equipment manufacturer, is urging Lighthizer to exempt products including bakery ovens and fridge/freezer equipment.