WASHINGTON—The Biden administration’s long-awaited review of tariff policy can’t come soon enough for an Ohio bedding maker, which says it is being pummeled by U.S. levies on imported Chinese feathers.
The family-owned business, Down-lite International Inc., won an exclusion from import tariffs last spring after arguing that there are few other places besides China where it can get the feathers it needs to stuff its quilts, comforters and other bedding.
The exclusions that were granted to Down-lite and thousands of other U.S. companies expired by late last year, however, and the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office says it won’t consider granting new exclusions until it completes a top-to-bottom review of tariffs on these and other Chinese imports imposed by the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, no tariffs were ever imposed on many of the finished bedding products from China—such as down-filled comforters and quilts, mattress pads, feather beds and sleeping bags—putting Down-lite at a disadvantage to its Chinese competitors in many of the company’s key products.
“It’s basically just helping the Chinese right now while hurting U.S. manufacturing,” said
Josh Werthaiser,
president of Down-lite’s feather and down division.
In April, more than 100 House members and almost 40 senators from both parties called on U.S. Trade Representative
Katherine Tai
to reinstate a process to seek tariff exemptions.
“We support efforts to challenge the inequities in our trade relationship with China,” the senators wrote. “In doing so we recognize a practical reality…some inputs for American manufacturers and small businesses remain unavailable outside of China.”
The Trade Representative’s office declined to comment. Asked about the expired exclusions at a Senate hearing last month, Ms. Tai said the issue would be considered as part of the broader review of China policy.
“The tariffs and the exclusion process will be a critical component of that review through which we will be soliciting robust feedback from the public, from Congress, and from everyone who’s affected by these,” she said.
Down-lite has paid more than $500,000 in tariffs since the exclusions expired, said Mr. Werthaiser, whose family has been in the down business for over a century, and founded Down-lite in 1983.
The Mason, Ohio, company makes fluffy down comforters and blankets, down-filled…
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