Law360 (May 5, 2020, 4:58 PM EDT) -- The U.S. International Trade Commission released a report detailing tariff levels for medical supplies needed to combat COVID-19, prompting a congressional leader to call for a 90-day suspension of all tariffs on coronavirus-related medical products.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., said in a statement Monday that such a suspension is needed to ramp up domestic production of medical products and end supply shortages.
"We must re-examine our existing policies and have the courage to enact the necessary transformative changes to make our supply chains smarter, our manufacturing capabilities stronger, and our country and citizens better prepared for future emergencies," he said.
The report released Monday identified 114 products, including vaccines, antibiotics, test kits and gloves, that have duties ranging between 0% to 30%. The products are broken down into seven categories and are being imported from more than 35 countries, according to the report.
The commission noted that the report includes medical supplies not related to the coronavirus possibly causing the data to "substantially overstate the value of U.S. imports of COVID-19 related goods."
"Since isolating all U.S. imports of COVID-19 related goods is not possible at the lowest available statistical classification scheme, this report does not provide estimates for total COVID-19 related U.S. imports," the ITC said.
The commission said the duty ranges are contingent "on whether a product is eligible for duty-free entry under a free trade agreement or other duty preference provision, and whether Section 301 duties apply to the good."
"The ranges do not take into account Section 301 product exclusions, as these exclusions are temporary," it said.
The U.S. spent $20 billion on imports of testing kits and testing equipment, which are duty-free products, in 2019, according to the report. This is more than the U.S. spent on any other medical supply import that year, the report said.
Neal and Senate Committee on Finance Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, had asked the Commission in early April to investigate tariffs on medical supply imports so that they could devise measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19.
Grassley said in a Monday statement that the ITC's report will assist Congress in making policies to address the coronavirus pandemic.
"This report isn't a final, conclusive list of products, so I'm glad the ITC has agreed to provide updates to the public," Grassley said. "We'll continue to study the impact of tariffs and trade policy generally on the American and global response to the COVID-19 pandemic."
--Additional reporting Alyssa Aquino. Editing by Adam LoBelia.
