The American Mold Builders Association is applauding a decision to maintain a 25 percent tariff on China-made molds, tools and dies, but also calling to double that rate.
President Joe Biden's administration has announced that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is retaining tariffs on molds, tools and dies imported from China, — a fee first put into place in 2019 under President Donald Trump.
But it doesn't go far enough, AMBA Managing Director Kym Conis said.
"We believe that Chinese molds are still under priced significantly. Our advocacy partner, The Franklin Partnership, has indicated that the range is between 30-50 percent," Conis said.
Biden had talked about removing the 25 percent tariffs, but the White House announced May 14 it is maintaining them and imposing new ones related to electric vehicles, solar cells, steel, aluminum and certain medical equipment.
Conis said the existing tariff helps AMBA's 200 member companies compete but doesn't make them whole.
"While hundreds of mold builders currently exist in the U.S., imports from lower-price countries, such as China, continue to cause injury to the domestic industry," Conis said. "The Section 301 trade action is a significant tool to ensure that the U.S. mold manufacturing industry remains healthy and globally competitive."
AMBA members plan to continue offering input and pushing for higher tariffs on Chinese molds, tooling and dies.
"In our last filed comments, we called on the Biden administration to focus on the transhipment of goods from China through third-party countries," Conis said. "In addition, we asked the administration to not only retain the 25 percent tariffs, but to raise them to 50 percent."
AMBA members had filed 60 of the 1,497 comments made to the USTR in the last review.
"The AMBA is very pleased to see the 25 percent tariffs remain, and we believe that they have stayed in place largely due to the efforts of AMBA's recent advocacy efforts and the many letters and comments our members have sent to the federal government," Conis said.
The exact number of U.S. mold manufacturing operations isn't known but is estimated to be between 800 and 1,000 companies
"American mold builders have the capacity, technical expertise and ability to deliver any molds ordered and we can attest that U.S. mold and die manufacturers stand ready to fill orders and put more Americans to work," Conis said.