September 19, 2018 

VIA ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION 

WWW.REGULATIONS.GOV 

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer 

United States Trade Representative 

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 

600 17th Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20508 

Re: Request for Section 301 Exclusion (Docket Number USTR-2018-0005) 

Custom-Engineered Accessories for Medical Devices classified in HTSUS 9018.90.6000 

Dear Mr. Lighthizer: 

ATL Technology (ATL" or the "Company") respectfully submits the following comments in 

response to the notice of the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") regarding the 

proposed action in connection with the Section 301 determination "that the acts, policies, and 

practices of the Government of China related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and 

innovation . . . are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce." 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 (April 6, 2018) ("Notice"). The USTR 

has proposed an additional tariff of 25 percent ad valorem on imports of specific products from 

China as listed in the annex to the Notice and identified by their eight-digit subheadings on the 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTSUS"). 

I. Company and Product Overview 

ATL has about 1200 team members, with 800 at our wholly-owned China facility and 400 in Utah 

and Costa Rica. We are a privately-owned company. We have no Chinese government ties but 

wholly own our China factory since 1997. In 2012, we converted from a "processing company" to 

a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary ("WOFE") to abide by best practices set out by the World Trade 

Organization. 

We manufacture custom interconnecting assemblies and components for data, powering and 

medical use. These assemblies and components are specifically designed for each customer. 

The components and accessories for medical use we manufacture are classified in the HTSUS 

under subheading 9018.90.6000 as parts and accessories of electro-surgical instruments and 

appliances. Annex A includes all products classified in the 8-digit HTSUS subheading 9018.90.60, 

which provides: 

9018 

9018.90 

Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or 

veterinary sciences, including scintigraphic apparatus, other 

electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments, parts 

and accessories thereof: 

Other instruments and appliances and parts and 

accessories thereof: 

Other 
September 19, 2018 

Page 2 of 3 

9018.90.60 00 

Electro-medical instruments and appliances and 

parts and accessories thereof: 

Electro-surgical instruments and appliances, 

other than extracorporeal shock wave 

lithotripters; all the foregoing and parts and 

accessories thereof 

ATL's products are exclusively designed for each of our customers. These components and 

accessories for medical use are listed devices with the U.S. FDA. They consist of electrical 

connectors soldered and molded to electrical wires. At least one end of the cable assembly is 

made to connect into a medical device. This is not a catalogue product, but one that has been 

designed for use with another specific medical device for a specific use. It cannot be sold to any 

other customer for any other purpose. 

The components and accessories we are seeking exclusion for are multi-colored such as white, 

gray, black or red and are made of over molded conducting wire in length anywhere from 

seventy-two inches to ten feet and weigh from a quarter of a pound to a pound with a unique 

molded or fitted connector, PCBA or hand-held instrument on the other end. All of these items 

are regulated by the US FDA and are further inspected or electrically tested by our U.S 

manufacturing facility. 

These products are essential to the medical community. The interconnecting components and 

accessories are not interchangeable or exchangeable with any other products available. All 

components and accessories included in this exception request are finished on both ends but still 

require packaging and/or sterilization before they are ready for consumer use. 

11. Lack of Production in the United States 

There is no American production of these custom-engineered, molded, unfinished cable 

assemblies. Nor is there production anywhere else in the world. These medical components and 

accessories all start with our engineers in Utah where we custom design what an OEM customer 

will need to meet the power and/or data requirements of each individual device as there is no 

standardization in the medical industry unlike, say, consumer electronics. Each component or 

accessory takes years to design, source, meet U.S. FDA registration and listing requirements, 

and get final production approval. ATL keeps all design customization files, drawings, and spec 

sheets in house. Nothing is shared with the Chinese government. Our China facility has skilled 

staff and unique manufacturing methods that have been built up over 20 plus years. Many of 

these components take unique skills in several areas, such as termination of wires that are thinner 

than human hair. 

There is no U.S. production of ATL's custom components and accessories. As such, U.S. 

producers would derive no benefit from these tariffs, but U.S. consumers, particularly those in the 

medical field, would suffer a substantial hardship. 

111. These Products are Not Strategically Important for "Made in China 2025" 

Placing additional tariffs on custom-engineered components and accessories would not benefit 

U.S. industry, nor would it further the USTR's stated goals underlying the Section 301 

investigation. ATL has not received any subsidies from the Chinese government to manufacture 

its components and accessories in China. 

The Chinese government has not employed any tactics to intervene in or regulate ATL's 

operations in China. It has not attempted to use discretionary administrative licensing and 

approval processes, foreign equity limitations, or foreign ownership restrictions to require or 

pressure ATL to transfer technology. 
September 19, 2018 

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ATL's control over its intellectual property and technology in China has not been undermined in 

the twenty plus years of doing business there, and the Chinese government has not directed or 

facilitated investment in or acquisition or ATL's assets or intellectual property. ATL is similarly 

unaware of any data breaches or attacks on ATL's facility in China. Imposing additional tariffs on 

such components would only harm American interests and would not reduce or eliminate China's 

acts, policies, and practices used to acquire foreign technology or that the USTR has identified 

as unreasonable or discriminatory. 

IV. Disproportionate Economic Harm to U.S. Interests 

The purpose of the Section 301 tariffs is to eliminate unfair Chinese trade practices relating to the 

misappropriation of United States intellectual property and technology. The imposition of these 

tariffs is intended to be practicable or effective to obtain the elimination of China's acts, policies 

and practices, and whether maintaining or imposing additional duties on particular products would 

cause disproportionate economic harm to U.S. interests, including small- or medium-size 

businesses and consumers. The imposition of tariffs on ATL's components and accessories would 

negatively affect American consumers by preventing the production and use of vital medical 

devices. 

Here, there is no U.S. production of these custom-engineered components and accessories. As 

such, no U.S. producers would derive a benefit from these tariffs, but U.S. consumers, particularly 

those in the medical field, would suffer a substantial hardship. Increased duties will only end in 

raising prices which ultimately hurts the medical community and medical patients. Furthermore, 

an unintended consequence may arise if we are not granted an exemption. Our OEM customers 

may decide to move production of their completed device outside the USA (to Mexico, Malaysia, 

and other locations) and decrease very highly compensated USA manufacturing jobs. 

Additionally, there is significant amount of time and cost, in terms of engineering and FDA 

compliance, to change the location of these products. The OEM customers may divert resources 

away from designing new devices or improvements to existing devices and direct these efforts 

over the next 2-3 years to changing manufacturing locations or alternative foreign suppliers. 

ATL manufactures other products in the United States and other global locations, which allows it 

to allocate cost-savings company-wide through balanced global manufacturing operations to 

provide quality products at reasonable prices. An increase in tariffs on these custom-engineered 

components and accessories would impact ATL's ability to provide these products necessary for 

the U.S. medical device industry. With insurance and medical costs already causing adverse 

outcomes, we are asking for this exclusion to keep production costs as low as possible from the 

starting point. 

V. Proposed Exclusion 

ATL respectfully requests that the USTR exclude from Annex A custom-engineered components 

and accessories classified under HTSUS subheading 9018.90.6000. Components of this type are 

essential for the production of medical devices in the United States, and no comparable products 

are manufactured in the United States or elsewhere in the world. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Brandon Tillman 

Director of Operations and General Manager 

ATL Technology