Section 301 Investigation: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology 

Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation - Form to Request Exclusion of Product 

When submitting a product exclusion request using this form, enter the specified 

information in the following fields and ex-plain the basis and rationale for your statements. 

By completing this form, you certify that the information provided is complete and 

correct to the best of your knowledge. 

1. Indicate whether the comment contains business confidential information (BCI), is a public 

document, or is a public version of a BCI document. 

Public Document 

2. Please provide a complete and detailed description of the product of concern: 

A waveform monitor is an electronic measurement instrument used in broadcast engineering and television 

production applications to measure and display video, audio, color and luminance levels with respect to time of a 

selected television signal. WFM's are physically cube-shaped (shoe box sized or pizza box sized) enclosures made a 

metal and plastic weighing up to 23 lbs. with different dimensions depending on model. The front of the device 

features a screen surrounded by various buttons for configuring the instrument and measurements to be made and 

selecting which on screen displays are to be provided to the user. The front of device also features knobs for 

navigating menus, control of cursors, selection of specific lines within the video frame, capturing information to 

memory and managing presets. On some modules, there is no screen but there are buttons to configure the 

instrument and select (separate) screen displays. 

Please see cover letter for additional description and picture 

3. 10-digit HTSUS item number* for product you wish to address in this product exclusion request: 

*Use numerical characters only with no special characters (example: 1023456789). For help in finding 

the HTSUS item number associated with your product, see https://hts.usitc.gov/ 

9030.40.0000 

4. Requestor Information 

Requestor Name (Last, First): 

Organization Name: 

Carpenter, Jon 

Tektronix, Inc. 

Note: Representatives submitting on behalf of an organization must enter information below. 

Requestor Representative: 

5. Requestor's relationship to the product: Importer 

6. Does this submission in regulations.govinclude additional attachments? 

YES 

7. Please indicate whether any additional attachment contains business confidential 

information (BCI), is a public document, or is a public version of a BCI document. 

Public Document 

VERSION 1 CONTINUED BELOW 1 
8. Is this product, or a comparable product, available from sources in the United States?: 

NO 

9. Is this product, or a comparable product, available from sources in third countries?: 

NO 

10. Please provide the value and quantity (with units) of the Chinese-origin product of concern 

that you purchased for each calendar year specified. Limit this figure to the products 

purchased by your firm (or by members of your trade association) alone. Please provide 

estimates if precise figures are unavailable. 

2017 Value: $ 2,676,338 2017 Quantity: 568 

2016 Value: $ 3,062,474 2016 Quantity: 714 

2015 Value: $ 2,721,062 2015 Quantity: 595 

11. Please provide information in support your request, taking account of the instructions 

provided in Section B of the Federal Register notice (note: text entered below can extend 

beyond the apparent size of this box). 

Please see attached cover letter 

Proposed tariff language 

(9030) Oscilloscopes... 

Other instruments and apparatus,specially designed for telecommunications 

Waveform Monitor 

Note a waveform monitor is not a Tektronix trade name. It is a specific type of test and measurement equipment 

used in the broadcast industry. The definition of which can be found in Wikipedia and other sources. 

VERSION 1 END 2 
Tektronix, Inc. 

14150 SW Karl Braun Drive 

Beaverton, OR 97077-0001 

Phone: 503 627-7111 

Tektronix. 

October 8, 2018 

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer 

United States Trade Representative 

Office of the United States Trade Representative 

700 17th Street Northwest 

Washington, D.C. 20508 

Re: Docket No. USTR-2018-0025; Tektronix Inc. Request for Exclusion of Certain Waveform Monitors 

from the Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to 

Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation 

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer: 

Tektronix Inc. ("Tektronie or "the Company') respectfully requests that certain Waveform Monitors imported 

from China and classifiable in subheading 9030.40.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 

(HTS”) be excluded from the additional 25% ad valorem duty that took effect on July 6, 2018 pursuant to the 

United States Trade Representative's determination under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.1 

A waveform monitor is an electronic measurement instrument used in broadcast engineering and television 

production applications to measure and display video, audio, color and luminance levels with respect to time of a 

selected television signal. WFM's are physically cube-shaped (shoe box sized or pizza box sized) enclosures 

made of metal and plastic weighing up to 23 lbs. with different dimensions depending on model. 

The front of the device features a screen surrounded by various buttons for configuring the instrument and 

measurements to be made and selecting which on screen displays are to be provided to the user. The front of 

device also features knobs for navigating menus, control of cursors, selection of specific lines within the video 

frame, capturing information to memory and managing presets. On some modules, there is no screen but there are 

buttons to configure the instrument and select (separate) screen displays. Further, on some models, the front of 

I Notice of Determination and Request for Public Comment Concerning Proposed Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301: 

China's Acts, Policies. and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, intellectual Property and Innovation, 83 Fed. Reg. 14,906 (Apr. 6, 

2018); Notice of Action and Request for Public Comment Concerning Proposed Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301: China's 

Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation, 83 Fed. Reg. 28,710 (June 20, 2018). 
the device has a 3.5mm audio jack port to allow the connection of headphones to listen to decoded audio and a 

USB port used for transferring software updates and captured images and information to and from the instrument. 

The back of the device contains various ports for connecting power and for connecting to the video and audio 

signals to be measured or monitored, reference clock signals to ensure that signals and measurements are correctly 

synchronized. There are also several output ports used to drive external picture monitors and displays, remote 

control systems and audio equipment and other equipment that may require access to the video signals being 

monitored or measured. On some models there are there are permanent ports (BNC connectors) used for 

connecting SDI (Serial Digital Interface) video and audio signals to be measured or monitored, reference clock 

signals to ensure that signals and measurements are correctly synchronized. In addition to this, there are 4 SFP 

ports into which different third party SFP's can be inserted to allow flexible configuration of these ports. In 

normal use on a waveform monitor these will be IP (Internet Protocol) SFP's used to connect video and audio 

signals that are being carried on IP networks. There are also fixed output ports used to provide an SDI signal for 

other independent devices that may need it. 

The top, bottom and right and left panels feature cooling holes to allow airflow through the instrument when in 

operation. 

In its condition as imported, it is in brown box packaging. Included with the main unit are accessories, such as a 

power cord, safety and quick start user manuals. The instrument may be provided with and optional carrying case 

the top of which has a handle for carrying the instrument and the bottom has two small flip legs that can be used 

to tilt the instrument upwards for easy use when placed on a workbench. 

The key components in waveform monitors include electronic circuit boards that are designed to acquire and then 

process the incoming video and audio signals. The information (voltage levels, color information, audio data etc.) 

from these processes are then transferred to data processing and display circuits that draw the waveform and 

present the measurements made on the integrated screen. These components, in combination with the features on 

the outside of the device, are intended to work together to perform the function of video and audio analysis for 

broadcast engineers and content editors in production. 

Tektronix imports these articles into the United States and sells them to US customers to analyze Audio and 

Video being carried on SDI (Serial Digital Interface) and IP (Internet Protocol) Broadcast Networks. 

As discussed further below, an exclusion for waveform monitors is appropriate and necessary. First, these 

specific products are produced only in China by a wholly foreign-owned Tektronix subsidiary; there is no other 

commercially comparable product made by contract manufacturers. Second, the additional duty will cause severe 

economic harm to Tektronix, causing it to raise prices and lose market share to competitors with little or no U.S. 

manufacturing operations; similarly, the Company cannot immediately abandon its investment in China without 

sustaining significant capital losses. Third, these types of Waveform Monitors are not products of strategic 

importance, nor do they contain the types of advanced technology that benefit China's Made in China 2025 plan. 

Thus, the grant of a product exclusion will not undermine the objective of the Section 301 duty. 

To mitigate the adverse impact that the additional duties will have on U.S. companies that wholly own 

manufacturing facilities in China, we also request that USTR categorically exempt from the Section 301 duty 

products manufactured in China by a wholly foreign-owned enterprise ("WFOE"). This may be effectively 

accomplished by refining the existing product exclusion request process to allow companies to certify under 

penalty of perjury that products have been manufactured by a WFOE (i.e., an entity that is 100% owned by a nonChinese entity; not subject to foreign ownership restrictions), and have not been subject to forced technology 

transfers. 

Additional background on the Company, and our request, is set forth below. 

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I. Company Background 

Tektronix is a world-leading manufacturer of test and measurement devices, including oscilloscopes, analyzers, 

signal generators, meters, power supplies and sources, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. The 

Company holds leading positions in most of its product categories, and is recognized as an innovation leader. The 

Company's products are utilized in a wide range of industries, including electronics design and manufacturing, 

aerospace and defense, broadcast, telecommunication, automotive and education. 

The Company is headquartered in Beaverton, OR. We employ approximately 2,200 people in the United States 

(4,000 globally) in a variety of capacities, including R&D, engineering, manufacturing, sales & service, and 

various professional and administrative positions. 

Tektronix has two primary manufacturing locations — the United States (approximately 40%) and China 

(approximately 60%). The China operation was strategically set up decades ago to sustain manufacturing of our 

established, lower-end, mainstream products that no longer required the expertise of our U.S. operations, and to 

provide products specifically designed for the Asian markets. The U.S. operation is designed to support new 

product introduction (research, design, and engineering), and to manufacture technically advanced, high-end 

instruments that require advanced technical skills, products that are subject to sensitive U.S. export controls, 

products that are subject to trade secrets, and products specifically procured by the United States government. 

The Section 301 duty impacts Tektronix finished goods manufactured by our wholly owned subsidiary in China, 

as well as to parts and assemblies manufactured by WFOEs in China, and imported in furtherance of our U.S. 

manufacturing operations. 

H. Tektronix Manufactures Chinese-Origin Waveform Monitors Because They Are Not Produced in 

the United States or Third Countries 

Tektronix's waveform monitors are manufactured at the Company's WFOE in China. Because these products 

contain proprietary technology, they cannot currently be sourced from contract manufacturers located in other 

countries. These items are custom designed and imported into the United States for sale to US customers. In 

other words, these are NOT generic products purchased on the basis of simple specifications. 

While generic waveform monitors are available outside China they are not comparable for Tektronix's purposes. 

Tektronix is in the business of designing and manufacturing its own propriety equipment. The Company could 

not purchase a competitive product and resell it to U.S. customers. Our competitors would not enter into 

distribution agreements with Tektronix as they would be cannibalizing their own market channels. Also, 

Tektronix would not be able to make a profit reselling a technology which our competitor owned and developed. 

Tektronix has invested years of engineering time and millions of dollars in developing our own propriety products 

which are differentiated from competitors with superior performance and features. In short, as the only 

manufacturer of these specific products, there is no other commercially comparable product currently available 

outside of China. 

III. The Additional Duty Will Cause Severe Economic Harm to Tektronix 

First, Tektronix will bear the expense of the additional duties on waveform monitors. Tektronix has made 

stategic investments in manufacturing, including supply chains, capital equipment, processes and personnel 

based on the trade rules in effect for decades. Tektronix's China operations produce goods not only for the United 

States, but also for the local market and global markets. Because the Company cannot abandon its investments 

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without substantially harming its U.S. employees and shareholders, the Company expects that it will need to 

continue to produce waveform monitors in China. 

Second, the duties will mostly likely result in loss of market share to the Company's non-U.S. competitors. At the 

proposed duty rate of 25%, it will be economically infeasible for Tektronix to import these products without 

raising prices for U.S. customers. If Tektronix raises prices, it will likely lose market share. Loss of market share 

will result in a loss of profitability and a long term loss of competitiveness. 

Third, Tektronix is heavily invested in the United States, employing approximately 2,200 employees in R&D, 

engineering, manufacturing, sales & service, and a host of other professional functions. The U.S. workforce 

represents the majority of the Company's global expenditure on labor. To the extent the Company is not able to 

fully pass on this price increase to its customers, the financial impact will be felt by the Company's U.S. 

operations. Tektronix, and other companies in this position, will need to make difficult decisions, including cost 

reductions and decreased investments in hiring, R&D, etc., to mitigate the impact of increased costs incurred as a 

result of the proposed duties. Collectively, such cutbacks will adversely impact the U.S. economy. As a proud 

America company, Tektronix does not wish to have to take these measures. 

Fourth, when and if Tektronix does reposition its supply chain away from its investments in China, the result will 

most likely be a significantly higher cost structure. A higher cost structure would be the result of higher labor 

costs in other jurisdictions, loss of process efficiency gained over years and significant transition costs. 

Based on the foregoing, the additional duties will cause severe economic harm to Tektronix. 

IV. The Grant of a Product Exclusion Will Not Undermine the Objectives of the Section 301 Duty 

A product exclusion request covering waveform monitors will not undermine the ultimate objective of the Section 

301 duty—to obtain the elimination of China's unreasonable and discriminatory acts, policies and practices in 

relation to technology transfers, intellectual property and innovation—because these products are not strategically 

important to China's industrial policies, including "Made in China 2025. Products, industries, and technologies 

that have been identified as strategically important to China's industrial policies include advanced integrated 

circuits, information and telecommunication equipment, manufacturing equipment including CNC and robotics, 

aerospace and aviation, maritime engineering and manufacturing, rail equipment, electrical generation equipment, 

agricultural machinery and equipment, new materials, and biomedical and medical devices.2 

In contrast to the above, while a few Made in China 2025 focus areas may use test and measurement equipment, 

Made in China 2025 does not appear to include a plan to create a Chinese test measurement equipment industry. 

Specifically, waveform monitors are used in broadcast engineering and television production applications to 

enable audio and video analysis. These products do not contain the types of technologies that have been 

identified as important for China's industrial growth policy. Furthermore, to the extent waveform monitors 

contain intellectual property, it is protected by virtue of Tektronix wholly owning and operating its own 

manufacturing facility in China. In fact, Tektronix's intellectual property arguably is better protected at its own 

facility in China than it would be at a contract manufacturer in a third country. 

As waveform monitors are unrelated to the Made in China 2025 plan, excluding these products will not 

undermine the objective of the Section 301 duty. 

V. Imposing Additional Duties on Goods Manufactured by Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries of U.S. 

Corporations is Unsupported by the Statute, and Runs Contrary to USTR's Stated Goals 

2 Made in China 2025: Global Ambitions Built on Local Protections, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (2017). 

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Imposing the additional duties on products manufactured by wholly-owned subsidiaries of U.S. corporations is 

not an "appropriate means of eliminating China's harmful acts, policies and practices cited in the Section 301 

determination. To the contrary, imposing additional duties on goods manufactured by WFOEs (particularly where, 

as in Tektronix's case, that WFOE has not been required to make involuntary transfers of technology) is a remedy 

which runs directly contrary to the objectives of the Section 301 determination. As such, it will not have the 

desired effect on the Chinese government's policies, and will not "level the playing fiele for U.S. companies. 

To ensure that USTR's remedy is "appropriate . . to obtain the eliminatioe 3of the cited acts, policies and 

practices of the government of China, while not disproportionally harming U.S. interests, we submit that USTR 

should exempt certain categories of goods from the additional duties—namely, goods manufactured by WFOEs, 

including wholly-owned subsidiaries of U.S. corporations that have not been subjected to involuntary transfers of 

technology (such as, for example, through the administrative review or licensing processes referenced in the 

Section 301 determination). 

The ultimate objective of the Section 30 I determination (as far as manufacturing in China is concerned) is to 

eliminate forced technology transfers, including via compelled joint ventures or other ownership restrictions. It 

would be illogical, unfair and inappropriate to penalize companies such as Tektronix, which manufacture in China 

under conditions consistent with the end goals of the Section 301 determination (in a WFOE, without involuntary 

technology transfers) in order to achieve those goals. 

Tektronix has neither suffered from, nor contributed to, the Chinese government's acts, policies and practices 

identified in the Section 301 determination. The Company has not voluntarily transferred technology to the 

Government of China, and has not otherwise been compelled to do so. Tektronix has not licensed, or been 

required to license, any technologies to Chinese entities, has not been compelled to transfer IP and/or technology 

to Chinese companies or State actors. To the contrary, Tektronix has an established and impressive track record 

of protecting and enforcing its portfolio of more than 170 IP rights in China, including patents and trademarks. 

Absent a nexus between a Company's imports and the unfair activity of the Government of China, there is no 

rationale for requiring the Company to bear the brunt of the USTR's proposed enforcement activity. Additional 

duties should be limited to products manufactured by companies that have surrendered valuable intellectual 

property to the Government of China, or that have consented to the unfair acts and practices of China, such as by 

entering into joint ventures as a cost of doing business in China. 

We submit that the best way to target goods that benefited from China's harmful acts, policies and practices is to 

refine the existing product exclusion request process to include a WFOE exemption mechanism. Companies that 

can establish independence from the alleged unfair acts of the Government of China should not be made to pay 

for those acts, and should be able to have their products excluded on a company-specific basis. 

Such an exclusion process would be relatively easy to administer. The USTR (or appropriate agency, such as U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection) would determine the documentation sufficient to establish that a particular 

Chinese manufacturer is a WFOE, and a representative of the foreign (e.g U.S.) owner of that WFOE would 

certify under penalty of perjury that the company had not been subjected to involuntary technology transfers in 

China. Exemptions would, therefore, be ganted on a manufacturer-specific basis. As the manufacturer of 

imported merchandise is already a required data element in the entry declaration filed with U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection, gants of exemption could be easily enforced at the border. 

VI. Conclusion 

3See 19 U.S.C. § 2411(b)(2). 
We respectfully request that waveform monitors be excluded from the Section 301 duty because these products 

are manufactured only at Tektronix's WFOE in China, the additional duty would cause severe economic harm to 

the Company, and these products are unrelated to the Made in China 2025 plan. 

In addition, we request that the USTR refine its proposed remedy by establishing a transparent 

exemption/exclusion process. We believe that the USTR has the ability and responsibility to craft a more precise 

and effective remedy for the Section 301 violations than what is currently in effect. Specifically, we urge the 

adoption of an exclusion request mechanism, where companies importing goods manufactured by WFOEs which 

have not been subject to voluntary or involuntary technology transfers may be removed from the scope of the 

S ection 301 duty. 

Thank you for the opportunity to submit this request. If you have any questions, or if you require any additional 

information, please contact Courtney Seelinger, Director, Trade Compliance Courtney.seelinger@tektronix.com 

503-627-2503. 

Respectfully submitted, 

don Carpenter '

Vice President, Operations 

Tektronix, Inc. 

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