The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has begun an update of its report on the effects of significant US import restraints. The report will also examine the effects of tariffs and of customs and border procedures on global supply chains.
The report, The Economic Effects of Significant US Import Restraints: Ninth Update; Special Topic: Effects of Tariffs and of Customs and Border Procedures on Global Supply Chains, was requested by the US Trade Representative (USTR) in a letter received on September 13, 2016.
In the letter, the USTR noted: “The rising importance of global supply chains means that intermediate inputs are increasingly traded across borders. Tariffs and inefficient customs and border procedures can raise the price of these inputs in each country they enter along the global supply chain, while their removal can substantially improve global welfare. An overview of these inefficiencies along the supply chain would be a useful special topic in the report."
The ninth update will contain two parts. The first part will assess the economic effects of significant import restraints on US consumers, workers, and firms. The USTR also requested that the ninth US ITC report include an assessment of how significant US import restraints affect households with different incomes. As in the past, and as requested by the USTR, the US ITC will not assess import restraints resulting from antidumping or countervailing duty investigations, section 337 and 406 investigations, or section 301 actions.
The second part of the report will describe, to the extent practicable, the cumulative effects of tariffs and customs and border procedures on global supply chains. It will also include the effect on services to the extent that they depend on goods traded through global supply chains. It will provide an overview of the recent literature that discusses the effects of these costs along the supply chain. It will also provide case studies examining supply chain inefficiencies stemming from customs and border procedures abroad in relevant industries.
The US ITC will hold a public hearing in connection with investigation on February 9, 2017.