Organization Name:

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

Requestor Representative:

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.

3.

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

4.

*

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/

7.

5. Requestor's relationship to the product:

6. Does this submission in regulations.gov include additional attachments?

Please indicate whether any additional attachment contains business confidential information 

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

Requestor Information

Requestor Name (Last, First):

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8. Is this product, or a comparable product, available from sources in the United States? (If you

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

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:

2016 Value:

2015 Value:

2017 Quantity:

2016 Quantity:

2015 Quantity:

% of your total gross sales in 2017 that the Chinese-origin product accounted for.

% of the total cost of producing the final product(s) the Chinese-origin input 

accounts for.

% of your total gross sales in 2017 that sales of the final product(s) incorporating 

the input accounted for.

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indicate "NO", you must provide support for your assertion in Box 12).

indicate "NO", you must provide support for your assertion in Box 12).

11. Is the Chinese-origin product of concern sold as a final product or an input used in

a) For imports sold as final products, please provide:

b) For imports of inputs used in the production of final products, please provide:

the production of a final product or products?

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

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instructions provided in Section B of the Federal Register notice. If you

responded "NO" to Questions 8 or 9, you must provide support for your

assertion in the box below. (Note: text entered below can extend beyond the

apparent size of this box).

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 PUBLIC VERSION

Proprietary Treatment Requested

 October 9, 2018 

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer 

United State Trade Representative

Office of the United States Trade Representative

600 17th Street NW 

Washington, DC 20508 

 

Re: Addendum to Request for Exclusion of Particular Products from the 

 Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301

This letter is submitted by Hanway International LLC (“Hanway” or “the Company”) 

pursuant to the Procedures to Consider Requests for Exclusion of Particular Products from the 

Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301 as set forth in docket number USTR-2018-0025-

0001. The information contained herein is an addendum to the individual product exclusion form, 

and is intended to address questions set forth in the procedures described above. For reference, 

this addendum pertains to certain levers that are used within [Bendi B55AC], [Bendi B3/B30AC 

Bendi VNA], [Bendi B40AC-HL/B50AC-HL], [Drexel SLT30AC/SLT35AC VNA], and [Drexel 

SL30AC, SL40AC, and SL50 AC] forklifts. The products imported from China are classified 

under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) subheading 8431.20.000 as

“Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of headings 8425 to 8430: Of 

machinery of heading 8427.” The following discussion addresses specific information that is 

requested in the Federal Register Notice published on July 11, 2018 (83 Fed. Reg. 32181) 

concerning the three questions provided and responded to below. 

Consistent with the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) procedures, we request 

confidential treatment for information designated as business confidential in this submission. Such 

information consists of information that would not customarily be released to the public, including 

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business or trade secrets regarding production costs and processes, product characteristics, and 

other sale-related business secrets, and the names of individuals or organizations that provided 

price, cost, and other market information. Business confidential information is indicated in the 

text below via single brackets ("[ ]"). Release of this information, including the identity of the 

submitter, would cause irreparable harm to the submitter. A public version of this Request is also 

being filed with all confidential information redacted. 

The Products 

 The levers that are the subject of this Request are used in forklifts. Specifically, the subject 

parts include levers for control lifts as well as control tilts and shifts. These products are used in 

[Bendi B55AC], [Bendi B3/B30AC Bendi VNA], [Bendi B40AC-HL/B50AC-HL], [Drexel 

SLT30AC/SLT35AC VNA], and [Drexel SL30AC, SL40AC, and SL50 AC] forklifts. These

products are made using 1045 steel. 

Upon importation, the products are assembled into the forklifts. These forklifts are 

designed to maneuver narrow channels and operate on both smooth and uneven floors and can 

operate within narrow spaces of fifty eight (58) inches. Equipped with hydraulic steering, these 

forklifts provide exceptional control and makes load placement and retrieval superior to other 

forklifts. The subject products are essential parts of these forklifts, and therefore, essential parts 

of American businesses. 

Upon importation, the subject levers are sold to domestic equipment manufacturers who 

use the products to create forklifts used by American businesses. The forklifts are used in 

warehouses, factories, as well as wholesale, department, and grocery stores, and are an essential 

component of the supply chain system in the United States. With these forklifts, American 

businesses operate more efficiently, and provide more access to the American consumer for the 

products they need in their daily lives. The levers that are the subject of this Request are:

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• Control lift levers

• Control tilt and shift levers

Pictures of the forklifts into which the subject parts are placed are below:

[ ] 

[Bendi B55AC] [Bendi B3/B30AC Bendi VNA] 

[ ] 

[Bendi B40AC-HL/B50AC-HL] [Drexel SLT30AC/SLT35AC VNA] 

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[ ] 

[Drexel SL30AC, SL40AC, and SL50 AC] 

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I. Whether the particular product is available only from China? 

Hanway’s levers can only feasibly be supplied in the capacity and quality needed from

China. China is the only country that already has the manufacturing plants, raw materials, and 

labor resources to sufficiently supply the Company’s valuable needs. Transferring production to 

another country would cost the Company time and resources it does not have. The Company has 

spent many years establishing its global sourcing to meet customer demand and exponential 

growth. 

The Company does not know any manufacturer outside China that is currently able to 

produce these parts at the capacity and quantity needed. While possible, it would likely take a 

significant amount of time (e.g., several years) for any party to attempt to develop a factory outside 

China that would be able to suitably supply to the Company’s needs for the subject parts. Even 

then, the new manufacturer would have to go through the thorough product testing process that 

Hanway demands of its suppliers. 

Similarly, there are no domestic suppliers from which the Company can obtain the subject 

products. It would take an aggressive approach for any manufacturer to begin to supply Hanway 

in any meaningful way. However, it is unlikely that a domestic manufacturer would undertake 

such a project due to cost, labor, and regulatory issues. 

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We believe that it would be cost prohibitive for a domestic manufacturer to attempt to 

supply the Company’s needs. These costs would include significant amounts of money spent on 

tooling and equipment in the factories. Further, the United States suffers from a lack of labor 

resources as finding employees willing to work in the harsh conditions of such manufacturing 

facilities is becoming more and more difficult. A domestic foundry would also have to surmount 

the increased requirements that various ordinances the Environmental Protection Agency and other 

regulatory agencies place on these producers. Even if a domestic manufacturer were to overcome 

all of the cumbersome burdens identified above, it would likely take several years for the domestic 

supplier to adequately be able to supply Hanway. 

For these reasons, there is currently no way for the Company to source the subject parts 

from outside China, whether it be from a third country or the United States, at the capacity needed. 

The imposition of an additional 25 percent tariff on these products will be debilitating to the 

Company. As such, we urge USTR to grant Hanway the Section 301 exclusion requested herein. 

II. Whether the imposition of additional duties on the particular product would cause 

severe economic harm to the requestor or other U.S. interests? 

Not only would the additional 25 percent tariff imposed on the Company for the subject 

parts significantly disrupt Hanway’s business, but it would have a devastating impact on domestic 

businesses that utilize forklifts every day, and, ultimately, the American consumer. First, Hanway 

does not have the ability to withstand the additional tariffs for the subject products. As it is, the 

Company’s profits on these products are small. Therefore, the Company would not be able to 

absorb the full amount of the additional tariffs. As such, it would have to pass on some or all of 

the additional tariffs to Hanway’s customers. 

Hanway’s customers, to whom the subject products are sold, manufacture forklifts used in 

countless American businesses. These businesses use the forklifts to move products from pallets, 

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boxes, and other items up to a weight of 3,000 lbs. These forklifts are used to move a variety of 

products that Americans buy and consume every day, and as such, is vital to the supply chain of 

everyday items. This, in turn, reduces the cost of goods on the consumer. Without these forklifts, 

and the component parts of the forklifts, like the subject levers, the American consumer would end 

up paying higher prices for the everyday goods they buy. Additional tariffs on the subject products 

would have the unintentional consequence of hurting American businesses and the consumers who 

buy products moved by those businesses every day. 

The extraordinary penalties the Company faces from these additional tariffs, and the 

inability to obtain these products elsewhere will impact the Company, American businesses, and 

American consumers in a significantly detrimental way. As such, we urge USTR to grant Hanway 

an exclusion from the Section 301 additional tariffs requested herein. 

III. Whether the particular product is strategically important or related to “Made in 

China 2025” or other Chinese industrial programs? 

The subject parts Hanway imports are not included as part of China’s “Made in China 

2025” initiative. While the “Made in China 2025” initiative targets machinery and equipment that 

are part of advanced technology manufacturing industries. The subject products are not advanced 

technology. 

The subject products have been manufactured by Hanway’s suppliers in China for many 

years and the technology used to create these parts has not changed in quite some time. The main 

focus of the “Made in China 2025” initiative, with respect to industrial applications, relates to 

innovative, breakthrough technologies in the areas of green manufacturing or high-end 

development, not the mature technology at issue in this request.

Further, Hanway is not subject to any foreign ownership or equity restrictions. There is no 

issue with Chinese policies forcing Hanway to license technologies to Chinese entities. The 

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Company licenses no technology to any entity in China. The Company also knows of no attempt 

by any Chinese entities to unfairly facilitate the systematic investment in, and acquisition of 

Hanway in order to obtain any sort of cutting-edge technological advantages. Finally, Hanway is 

not aware of any theft of its intellectual property by China.

For these reasons, the subject imports are not strategically important or related to China’s 

“Made in China 2025” initiative or other Chinese industrial programs. As such, we urge USTR to 

grant Hanway the exclusion requested herein.

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