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 explain 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: 

The ProSelect PSTS21P52 Model is a 5-2 day weekday/weekend programmable wall mounted thermostat to control 

heat and air conditioning in the home It can be either hard wired or battery operated. This model is compatible with 

up to 2 heat/ 1 cool conventional and heat pumps The thermostat has a large bright blue backlit display and retains 

memory settings. This model also has setting retention, adjustable temperature set point limits, temporary program 

override for 4 hours or until next set point, a front access reset button, and adaptive recovery mode with a F/C switch 

The products dimensions are 3.72" x 4.75" x 1.12" 

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/ 

9032100030 

4. Requestor Information 

Requestor Name (Last, First): 

Organization Name: 

Glenn Moore 

Braebum Systems LLC 

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

Requestor Representative: Adrienne Braumiller, Esq., Braumiller Law Group, PLLC 

5. Requestor's relationship to the product: lmporter •

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?: 

YES 

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: $61,594 .56 2017 Quantity: 5,328 

2016 Value: $22,769.76 2016 Quantity: 1,968 

2015 Value: $14,439.36 2015 Quantity: 1,248 

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). 

The submitter certifies that information provided is complete and correct to the best of his or 

her knowledge. Please see attached letter. 

VERSION 1 END 2 
BRAUMILLER 

las " NI LAW GROUP, PLLC 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW 

Submitted Via WINW Requlations.Gov 

September 25, 2018 

Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative 

Office of the United States Trade Representative 

600 17th Street NW, Room F516 

Washington, DC 20508-0001 

RE: USTR 2018-00025; Request for Exclusion from the Determination of Action Pursuant 

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

Intellectual Property, and Innovation Tariff Under Harmonized Tariff Code 

(HTS) 9032.10.0030 

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer, 

This request for exclusion is submitted pursuant to Federal Register notice published on July 11, 

20181, establishing the process to submit exclusion requests from tariffs applied to U.S. imports 

pursuant to the Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974: China's 

Acts, Policies and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property and Innovation. 

We hereby respectfully request that the wall mounted thermostats imported by Braeburn Systems 

LLC (Braeburn or the Company), under HTS code 9032.10.0030 be excluded from the additional 

25% tariff imposed on this HTS code pursuant to Section 301. 

Explained below are the reasons why the thermostats meet the elements in the Federal Register 

notice to be excluded from the additional tariff under Section 301. 

1. Distinguished from other products in the 8-digit HTS code 

The subject thermostats are classified under HTS 9032.10.0030, "Thermostats; for air 

conditioning, refrigeration or heating systems; wall-mounted". The 8-digit code is only for 

"Thermostats; for air conditioning, refrigeration or heating systems". Accordingly, the subject 

thermostats, ProSelect (privately-owned brand of Braeburn) PSTS21P52 Model, differ from other 

thermostats in this general 8-digit classification as these thermostats may only be mounted on 

walls. The product is distinguished from the 8-digit tariff description, as it is a 5-2 day 

weekday/weekend programmable wall mounted thermostat to control heat and air conditioning in 

the home. It can be either hard wired or battery operated. This model is compatible with up to 2 

heat/ 1 cool conventional and heat pumps. The thermostat has a large bright blue backlit display 

and retains memory settings. This model also has setting retention, adjustable temperature set 

point limits, temporary program override for 4 hours or until next set point, a front access reset 

button, and adaptive recovery mode with a F/C° switch. The products dimensions are 3.72" x 

4.75" x 1.12. See Attachment A for a description of the thermostat. 

2. The thermostats are currently only available from China 

Braeburn Systems LLC has established a strong relationship with its manufacturer in China. The 

manufacturer produces the thermostats according to Braebum's strict specifications and quality 

control measures. Braeburn has now created a long standing, dependable relationship with this 

1 83 Fed. Reg. 32181 — 32184 (July 11, 2018). 

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WWW.BRAUMILLERLAW.COM 
supplier as it has been working with this Chinese manufacturer for 17 years. In fact, the Chinese 

supplier, Computime Group Limited, is a 27% member of Braeburn Systems LLC. However, all 

products manufactured are under Braeburn's protected intellectual property. Generally, only 10% 

of the north American thermostat market is produced in the U.S., Canada, and countries other 

than China and Mexico. Accordingly, there are very few U.S. producers available that could 

produce Braeburn's thermostats and the cost would be much higher, in addition to the cost of 

changing sourcing. Although the thermostats could be made by entities in Mexico, to suddenly 

change Braeburn's sourcing to another country would take at least 9-12 months to establish the 

process and educate the new manufacturer on Braeburn's strict standards. Braeburn has over 40 

different room thermostat variations. The Company can only move 5 to 8 models at a time due to 

constraints on engineering and manufacturing resources. This would require the entire effort of 

the Company to initiate and bring to a successful conclusion. Costs associated with moving 

production could be as high as $500,000 depending on need for new tooling, test fixtures or other 

related equipment to facilitating production at the new facility. 

In the meantime, Braeburn would be paying an additional 25% to import the thermostats thereby 

adding immensely to the company's cost. In total, Braeburn only imports from $1,200,000 to 

$1,900,000 per year of the subject thermostats from China. This imported value represents an 

insignificant amount of the $50 billion in imported goods from China that the Section 301 tariffs 

are intended to address. Further, Braeburn is a small sized business, employing directly about 23 

people. The additional burden of paying these tariffs for its imports is disproportionate to the size 

of the Company. The additional duties represent a heavy burden on Braeburn's ability to absorb 

the additional financial impact and still retain its level of economic viability. 

3. Severe economic burden to Braeburn and U.S. interests 

These thermostats represent one of the Company's most imported and highest-selling lines. To 

levy this large of an additional cost to the product translates to an additional cost of $2.5 million 

for every $10 million in material purchases on Chinese manufactured room thermostats. This 

would basically eliminate Braeburn's net income on the entire product offering for the entire period 

the tariffs are in effect. Further, the additional tariffs would severely curtail the Company's ability 

to develop new products, generate new proprietary intellectual property, source new customers, 

and maintain existing large volume customers. Eventually this would lead to reduction of the 

Company's SG&A budgets, elimination of numerous jobs, and reduction in its overall company 

footprint to offset the tariff impact. A truly "American made" company would suffer due to 

imposition of the additional tariffs. 

4. Relevance to "Made in China 2025" program 

The thermostats manufactured by the Chinese factory are made according to Braeburn's own 

proprietary specifications and patented technology. Braebum has experienced no breach of its 

intellectual property rights from this factory in its history of operation, and the Company would 

instantly lodge a complaint if such violation were identified. As the intellectual property is owned 

exclusively by Braeburn, it is not transferring any IP to the Chinese factory. There is no forced 

transfer of technology, which transfer is the focus of the Section 301 tariffs as discussed in the 

Page 2 

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Section 301 report from the USTR.2. Further, the thermostats are not one of the ten industries 

which are the focus of the "2025" program. Rather, these industries include: 

(1) advanced information technology; (2) robotics and automated machine tools; 

(3) aircraft and aircraft components; (4) maritime vessels and marine engineering equipment; (5) 

advanced rail equipment; (6) new energy vehicles; (7) electrical generation and transmission 

equipment; (8) agricultural machinery and equipment; (9) new materials; and (10) 

pharmaceuticals and advanced medical devices. 

There is accordingly no direct link between these relatively low volume imports of the thermostats, 

and the goals of the Section 301 tariffs to address the targeted industries in the "China 2025" 

program. 

Additionally, there is no joint venture between the two companies, and all intellectual rights are 

owned by Braeburn Systems LLC, a U.S. company. Braeburn's business relationship is not 

subject to any Chinese administrative policies which require the transfer of its intellectual property 

in any manner. Thus, penalizing a U.S. company whose intellectual rights are already protected 

by forcing it to pay additional duties does not further the U.S. government's policy regarding the 

"Made in China" initiative. In fact, the relationship between the Section 301 tariff goals and the 

actual impact in this instance is nonexistent. Applying the Section 301 tariff to the imports of the 

thermostats by Braeburn does not serve the purpose of the Section 301 goals but in fact 

contravenes the goals. 

In light of the above, Braeburn sincerely requests that its thermostat ProSelect PSTS21P52 be 

granted an exclusion of the 25% Section 301 tariff. Importation of this product does not undermine 

the U.S. govemment policy toward the "Made in China 2025" program and would only be 

detrimental to the economic viability of this small sized U.S. company. Braebum certifies that 

information provided is complete and correct to the best of his or her knowledge. 

Best regards, 

Digitally signed by Adrienne Adrienne Braumiller 

cn=Adrienne Breumiller, 

o=l3reunniller Lew Group, PLLC, ou, 

Braurniller eeil=adrienne@braumer m illlaw.co 

, c.US 

Date: 20180925 10:1727 -0500' 

Adrienne Braumiller, Partner. 

Trade Counsel for Braeburn Systems LLC 

2United States Officer of the Trade Representative "Findings of the Investigation into China's Acts, Policies, 

and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation Under Section 301 of 

the Trade Act of 1974, (Mar. 22, 2018); also found at: 

https://ustr. ctov/sites/defau It/files/Section %203131%2OF I NAL. PDF. 

Page 3 

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ATTACHMENT A 
737i10 

o 

SYSTEM FAN 

CIF LIMP PROG HOLD RETURN DAYMME AMC ON 

0 

41 PROSELECT M Product Specifications 

PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTATS 

73110I 

• RESET 

SYSTEM 

CO,24_ OrFliVT 

FAN 

PROG HOLD RETURN DAYTTIME ALlat 

PSTS11P52 PSTS21P52 

Model Numbers 

PSTS11P52 — 1 Heat/ 1 Cool Conventional or 

1 Heat/ 1 Cool Heat Pump 

PSTS21P52 — Up to 2 Heat/ 1 Cool Conventional 

and Heat Pump 

Product Features 

• 5-2 Day Weekday / Weekend Programming 

• Dual Powered—Hardwired or Battery 

• Large Display with Bright Blue Backlight 

• Adjustable Temperature Set Point Limits 

- Non-Volatile Memory Retains User Settings 

- Filter Check Monitor 

- Adaptive Recovery Mode (ARM') 

- Adjustable Temperature Differential(s) 

• ESD GuardTM Electronic Circuitry 

Compressor Short Cycle Protection 

O Separate Heating and Cooling Set Point 

Program Times and Temperatures 

Temporary Program Override for 4 Hours 

or Until Next Set Point 

Programmable Extended Hold Mode 

Front Access Reset Button 

F° / C° Switch 

Gas / Electric Fan Switch 

Mount to Horizontal Box 

Easy Access Front Battery Door 

Separate 0 & B Terminals 

Meets California Title 24 Guidelines 

YEAR 

LIMITED 

WARRANTY 

(D2016 Ferguson Enterprises, lnc. All Rights Reserved. U.S. Patent 7,438,469 and other patents pending. PSTSP-300-002 
PROSELECT M Product Specifications 

PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTATS 

PSTS11P52 Terminal Designations 

Rc Rh 

:10 40 C4 CS 40 14 .10 

Cool 24 Volt 

AC Transforme 

Reversing Valve Cool Fan 

Heat Energized Control Control 

Heat 24 Volt 

AC Transformer 

Reversing Valve 

Cool Energized 

Heat 

Control 

Transformer 

Common 

PSTS21P52 Terminal Designations 

R 0 B C Y1 E/W1 G W2 

4a 40 40 AO tA 

24 Volt AC 

Transformer 

Reversing Valve 

Heat Active 

Compressor Fan 

Control 

Revers ng Valve 

Cool Active 

Transformer 

Common 

Emergency 

Heat Control 

Aux liary 

Heat Control 

Architectural Specifications 

The digital programmable thermostats shall be PROSELECTIM model numbers PSTS11P52 and PSTS21P52, 3.72" high x 4.75" wide x 1.12" 

deep, powered independently with either 24 Volt AC or with two "AA" alkaline batteries (3.0 Volt DC). The thermostats shall be compatible 

with gas, oil or electric heating or cooling systems including heat pumps and 250mv-750mv millivolt heating systems. The thermostats shall 

have a bright blue backlight display, adjustable temperature set point limits, front loading battery door and separate sub-base for trouble 

free installation. Temperature control range shall be between 45° and 90° F (7° and 32° C), accuracy of +/- 1° F (+/- .5° C), humidity range 

between 5% and 95% relative humidity. The thermostats shall include non-volatile memory to retain user settings, filter check monitor, adaptive recovery mode (ARMTm) and separate heating and cooling set point program times and temperatures. Thermostats shall have three level 

low battery indication and a front reset button will return user settings to default values when pressed. The thermostats can be mounted to 

a horizontal junction box. 

Product Specifications 

Dimensions: 3.72" x 4.75" x 1.12" 

Shipping Information 

INDIVIDUAL CARTON MASTER CARTON 

Electric Rating: 24 Volt AC (18-30 Volt AC) Dimensions: 3.75" x 5.5" x 1.4" Quantity: 12 

1 amp maximum load per terminal Weight: .45 lbs. Dimensions: 9" x 4.25" x 11.5" 

2 amp total maximum load (all terminals) [PSTS11P52] Cubic Feet: .25 

3 amp total maximum load (all terminals) [PSTS21P52] Weight: 5.7 lbs. 

AC Power: 18 - 30 Volt AC 

DC Power: 3.0 Volts DC PROSELECTTM PSTS11P52 Replaces* 

(2 "AA" Alkaline batteries included) Honeywell* TH2110, TH4110, T8000, T8001, T8112, T8132 

Compatibility: Gas, oil or electric systems White-Rodgers° 1F78H-151, 1E78-151, 1F78-167 

Heat pump systems Braebure 2000, 2000NC 

250mv — 750mv millivolt heating systems Robertshaw° RS3110, 8600-1, 8601-1, 9600 

Control Range: 45° to 90° F (7' to 32° C) ICM° 

LuxPre 

SC3000, SC3001 

PSP511C, PPS511LC 

Display Range: 40° to 99° F (4° to 37° C) 

Accuracy: +/- 1° F (+/- .5° C) PROSELECTTM PSTS21P52 Replaces* 

Temperature Honeywell* TH2110, TH4210, T8011, T8024 

Differential: 1st Stage: .5°, 1°, or 2° F (.25°, .5°, or 1° C) White-Rodgers' 1F72-151 

2nd Stage: (PSTS21P52 Only) 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°or 6°F Braebure 2200, 2200NC 

(1°, 1.5°, 2°, 2.5°or 3°C) Robertshave RS3210, 8625-1, 9615, 9620 

Storage Temperature: 14° to 140° F (-10° to 60° C) ICM* SC3201 

Operating Humidity: 5% to 95% Relative Humidity LuxPre PSPH521L 

Terminations: Rc, Rh, B, 0, Y, W, G, C (PSTS11P52) 

R, 0, B, C, Yl, E/W1, G, W2 (PSTS21P52) 

*Verify specific application requirements All trademarks are the properly of their respective owners