AED urges heavy equipment tariff exemptions

The Schaumburg, Illinois-based Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) trade group is urging its members to contact the offices of federal elected officials and urge them to “pressure the Trump administration to reconsider including construction and agriculture equipment and related supplies” identified in a recent White House expansion of Section 232 tariffs.

In a Sept. 8 alert to its members, AED includes a hyperlink to a template it is encouraging them to modify and then send to the offices of their senators and representatives.

In mid-August the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it was adding more than 400 new tariff lines to the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff lists, labeling them “derivative products.”

On that list, says AED, are many items (equipment and components) its members manufacture and distribute.

These items are now subject to a 50 percent tariff on their steel and aluminum content while the nonsteel and nonaluminum content will remain subject to the reciprocal and other applicable tariffs, according to the trade association.

“This will have a substantial impact on the equipment industry and your customers, unnecessarily driving up costs and creating uncertainty," AED says. "Consequently, AED is launching a grassroots push to urge members of Congress to pressure the Trump administration to reconsider including construction and agriculture equipment and related supplies in the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs.”

As a way of helping members contact legislative offices, AED has made its template available and instructed members regarding how to find the email addresses of applicable senators and representatives.

AED also is urging members to “pass along any response you receive to AED staff for follow up,” and has identified a staff member as a liaison for the effort.

“There’s too much at stake for the industry and your company not to take a few minutes to engage in the process," the group says.