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Public Document

Horizons Brand Counter Top water cooler, Model HCB 215 ST Hot & Cold 

Pump Fed for fast flow 

Programable 

Soft Touch Push Button Dispense 

Black Injection molded cabinet

Stainless Steel Cold Tan

Stainless Steel Hot Tank

12.8W X 17 D X 17.5 H (inches)

28 lbs.

UL Listed

8418690120

Spear, Gregory

New Beverage Ventures

Importer

YES

Public Document
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NO

YES

N/A N/A

N/A N/A

N/A N/A

See attached 
Via online submission at regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2018-0025

Public (P)

September 20, 2018

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

US Trade Representative

Office of the United States Trade Representative

600 17th Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20006

Re: USTR-2018-0025 Request for Exclusion of Products related to Section 301 Investigation: China’s Acts, 

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

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer:

New Beverage Ventures (“NBV” also dba as “Aquabeve” ) designs and distributes a proprietary line of drinking 

water coolers throughout the United States and respectfully submits the following statement in support of our 

request to exclude drinking water coolers imported under HTS # 8418.69.01.20 from the new tariffs imposed under 

subheading 8418.69.01 as these tariffs would cause substantial hardship to NBV and to NBV’s prospective 

customers and ultimately drinking water consumers, without, in our opinion, advancing the objectives of the US 

Trade Representative in this matter.

Description of Product 

Horizons Brand Counter Top water cooler, Model HCB 215 ST Hot & Cold 

Pump Fed for fast flow 

Programable 

Soft Touch Push Button Dispense 

Black Injection molded cabinet

Stainless Steel Cold Tan

Stainless Steel Hot Tank

12.8W X 17 D X 17.5 H (inches)

28 lbs.

UL Listed

US Customs Identification 

These products are imported under a unique HTS classification 8418.69.01.20 subheading, specifically identifying 

water cooler products as “Drinking Water Coolers-Self Contained”. US Customs should have no issues identifying 

water cooler products under this unique and specific HTS classification as they are commonly available and 

recognized in the workplace and in homes.

NBV Water Coolers

NBV has recently acquired the rights to import and distribute a proprietary line of MTN branded water coolers. As 

a result, NBV is submitting this exclusion request in order to allow NBV to import waters coolers free of the 25% 

tariff contemplated by USTR-2018-0025 on water coolers HTS #8418.69.01. These water coolers are unique and 

proprietary to NBV based on the product designs and carry many design patents (unique aesthetics) and mechanical 

patents (unique functional features). But, they all dispense cold and hot water from 3 to 5-gallon drinking water 

bottles and fall into this HTS # 8418.69.01.20 for drinking water coolers. 
These proprietary water coolers are designed by a US based design engineer. NBV then produces and owns all of 

the tooling and molds required to produce the NBV water coolers. NBV has invested over five million dollars in the 

tooling and molds which are all located at our contract manufacturer in China. NBV has also made a significant 

investment to train the China contract manufacturer on the methods, techniques and quality standards required to 

manufacture our water coolers. Please see attached data sheet which shows images of the NBV water coolers.

Where are water coolers made today and the effect on NBV.

Drinking water coolers are no longer manufactured in the United States. The vast majority of water coolers 

imported in this category are manufactured in China. However, there are generic water coolers produced in other 

3rd countries such as Korea, Malaysia and Mexico. Water coolers from these countries are not impacted by the 

increased tariffs that we are facing for water coolers produced in China. This provides for an unfair, and apparently 

unintended, competitive advantage to NBV competitors who just happen to purchase their water coolers from one of 

these other countries instead of China.

Since NBV water coolers are unique and proprietary to NBV because of the aesthetic design and the 

functional/mechanical features of our water coolers, it is not possible for NBV to purchase a generic, off-the-shelf 

water cooler from a 3rd country not impacted by the increased tariffs. Furthermore, alternate supply arrangements 

with contract manufacturers in one of the other countries not impacted by the tariffs imposed by the Determination 

of Action-Section 301 would not be practical because of the time involved to train the new factory on NBV

methods, techniques and quality standards (more than one year) and because of the cost involved for NBV to reproduce all of the proprietary tooling and molds necessary to manufacture the NBV water coolers.

Impact of increased tariffs on water coolers to NBV and NBV customers

NBV sells our drinking water coolers to bottled water companies throughout the United States who then supply the 

drinking water to consumers in 3 to 5-gallon bottles. Typically, our bottled water customers lease the water cooler 

to home and offices and then deliver the drinking water to the end bottled water consumer. The drinking water 

cooler cost is traditionally considered a capital cost to our bottled water customers because they will, generally, lease 

the water cooler appliance their water customers. Capital budgets have already been established by these NBV

customers for 2018 many months ago. The tariff of 25% will increase the capital cost of each water cooler 

purchased from July 6, 2018 onwards for our customers. The increased capital cost of each water cooler means the 

capital budgets of each of our customers will be consumed with fewer cooler purchases and likely mean 25% fewer 

water coolers will be purchased from NBV. At a minimum, our bottled water cooler customers will be forced to 

pass on the increased cost to their customers, ultimately reducing the end-user demand for water coolers. Reducing 

the number of water coolers in the market may also, and likely will, have the effect of reducing consumer purchases 

of high-quality bottled water from our customers.

These negative events will have a significant adverse financial impact on NBV. NBV sales revenue could decline 

by as much as 25%, forcing NBV to reduce our employee headcount and reduce other distribution services at our 

distribution facilities in La Verne, CA. NBV Sales Representatives located throughout the US will also see their 

sales commissions decline with fewer water cooler sales. The NBV bottled water customers will likely lose 

drinking water customers due to increased cooler lease costs to end consumers and will surely have to reduce 

customer acquisition goals due to the higher capital cost of each water cooler. Obviously, these negative events 

would cause severe economic harm to NBV, our employees and agents, and our customers. The tariff increases will 

not only have the negative impact on NBV, but cause economic harm to our entire industry and drinking water 

consumers in general.

Is water cooler technology strategically important to China?

The stated goal of the Notice of Action is to impose higher tariffs on “Goods imported from China containing 

industrially significant technology” including those products related to “Made in China 2025 Program”. NBV does 

not believe that water cooler technology is “industrially significant technology”. We are not aware that low-tech 
water coolers are part of the “Made in China 2025” program and we do not consider water coolers to be a targeted 

opportunity under the “Made in China 2025” initiative.

In conclusion:

• NBV Products imports an insignificant dollar value of products under HTS subheading 

8418.69.01 compared to the total value of products imported under this HTS#.

• Drinking water coolers are easily identified by US Customs under the specific HTS sub-heading # 

8418.69.01.20 which specifically refers to “drinking water coolers-self contained”. Furthermore, 

the purpose, features and benefits and the general characteristics of water cooler products are well 

known in the market place and easily identified by US Customs personnel.

• Water Coolers are not made in the United States.

• NBV designs a uniquely proprietary line of water cooler products. All of the tooling and molds 

required to produce the NBV water coolers are only available in China. Moving the production of 

our water cooler products to an alternate supplier is financially impractical and time prohibitive.

• Water cooler technology, while important to NBV and our customers, is not strategically 

significant to China.

• To our knowledge, water coolers are not part of the “Made in China-2025” program.

• The increased tariffs, if imposed on water coolers, will certainly cause reduced sales revenue to 

NBV, our customers the entire bottled water industry in general

• The increased tariffs on water coolers imported from China will provide an unfair and unintended 

competitive advantage to water cooler importers who just happen to import water coolers from 3rd 

countries not impacted by these new tariffs on water coolers.

• The imposition of these additional tariffs will cause severe economic harm to NBV, to our 

customers, to drinking water consumers and the entire Home & Office Bottled water delivery 

industry in general. 

• The unintended consequence of imposing a 25% tariff on water coolers will be the reduction of 

jobs throughout the US water cooler industry.

Therefore, NBV confirms the preceding information is true and correct, to the best of our knowledge, and hereby 

requests that the USTR exclude drinking water coolers that NBV imports under HTS Classification # 8418.69.01.20 

from the 25% increase in tariff rates. 

Please contact Alan Cosby at (617) 513-7041 should you have any questions about our request for exclusion. 

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Features

• 1.4L / 0.37G Stainless steel hot tank 

• 3.55L / 0.94G stainless steel cold tank 

• 17.5” tall - fits under most cabinets 

• Touch sensitive activation panel - no moving parts 

• Large 10” dispensing area to accommodate a variety of 

container sizes 

• Lighted spout and dispensing area 

• Filtration system can be setup to run outside of cooler 

• Dual mechanical float 

• Hot water safety lock 

• Fast flow water dispensing 

• Removable, dishwasher safe drip tray 

• Available in black - custom color and logo options 

available 

• UL listed 

• Accu-TempTM - Serves water at the proper temperature 

every time 

Filtration Cooler
Filtration Cooler

Power

Votage 115V

Frequency (Hz) 60

Power Consumption 517W

Cold Power Consumption 67W

Hot Power Consumption 450W

ES (kWh/24 hrs.) 0.646

% lower than ES Standard 26%

Hot Water System

Avg. Hot Water Temp at Nozzle @ 77°F Ambient (Cut-in / Cut-out Temp) 174°F / 190°F

Hot Water ARI Rating 31, 6 oz. > 165°F +/- 10%

Hot Thermometer / Heat Limiter 203°F +/- 5.5°F

Hot Thermostat / Thermistor Cycle 172°F / 190°F

Hot Water Flow Rate 1.06 - 1.17 oz./sec

Hot Tank Size (L) 1.4L

Heat Band Wattage 450W

Cold Water System

Avg. Cold Water Temp at Nozzle @ 75°F Ambient (Cut-in / Cut-out Temp) 45.7°F / 41.2°F

Cold Water ARI Rating 34, 5 oz. < 50°F +/- 10%

Cold Thermostat Set Point 45°F + 3°F/-8°F

Cold Water Flow Rate 1.06 - 1.17 oz./sec

Cold Tank Size / Usable Volume / Below Baffle Cold Water (Liter : Gallon) 3.56 / 2.65 / 1.32 : 0.94 / 0.7 / 0.35

Weights and Measurements

Net Weight (Lbs.) 28

Gross Weight (Lbs.) 30.9

Max Distance from Drip Tray to Faucet (Inch : mm) 10.25 : 260.35

Faucet / Dispense Height (Inch : mm) 28.75 : 730.25

Cooler Dimensions / Boxed Dimensions WxDxH (inch) 12.8x17.9x17.5 / 13.4x17.7x18.5

Container Load (20’) 340

Container Load (40’) 700

Container Load (40’ HC) 875

Container Load (45’ HC) 979

Certifications UL Listed

Models (H&C) HCB 215ST

Warranty:

3 years: Sealed refrigeration system

2 years: Parts (electrical to include cold 

controls, relay overloads and PCB’s)

phone: (909) 629-7301)

Canada: (905) 302-7896

email: info@aquabeve.com

Inspirations trademark owned by Aquabeve. ©2018 Aquabeve. All rights reserved web: www.aquabeve.com 09/2018