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):

VERSION 2 CONTINUED BELOW 1
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.

VERSION 2 CONTINUED BELOW 2

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

VERSION 2 END 3

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).
Givens & Johnston, PLLC

950 ECHO LANE, SUITE 360

HOUSTON, TEXAS 77024-2788

p 713.932.1540

f 713.932.1542

ROBERT T. GIVENS SCOTT L. JOHNSTON

JOSEPH A. ACAYAN SHARON STEELE DOYLE

JAMES GARLAND HURST LUIS F. ARANDIA, JR.

PRACHI SHARMA DAVID S. HSU 徐世岡

OF COUNSEL

KEITH HENNESSEE

Robert T. Givens, Member

rgivens@givensjohnston.com

October 9, 2018

VIA ELECTRONINC DOCUMENT FILING, DOCKET NO. USTR-2018-0025

PUBLIC DOCUMENT

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

U.S. Trade Representative

Office of the United States Trade Representative

600 17th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20006

Attn: Arthur Tsao, USTR Assistant General Counsel

RE: SECTION 301 TARIFF EXCLUSION REQUEST; CERTAIN ELECTRICAL

CONTACTORS CLASSIFIABLE UNDER 8536.49.0065; WILSPEC TECHNOLOGIES 

INC.

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer,

Pursuant to the guidance of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Federal 

Register Vol. 83, No. 133, Page 32,181, and a Power of Attorney (See Exhibit 1), Givens & 

Johnston, PLLC hereby files the instant Section 301 Tariff Exclusion Request (“Exclusion 

Request”) on behalf of Wilspec Technologies Inc. (“Wilspec”), and respectfully requests that 

Wilspec be excluded from 301 duties applicable to its imported merchandise. The merchandise 

at issue consists of certain electrical contactors classified under HTSUS subheading 

8536.49.0065, which are not strategically important to China’s “Made in China 2025” initiative 

or other industrial programs.
I. STATEMENT OF POSITION

Wilspec Technologies, Inc., a privately held Oklahoma company, contracts with a 

manufacturing plant in China to manufacture custom made capacitors, contactors, relays, and 

other electrical components. These products are custom designed and engineered in the United 

States at Wilspec facilities in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by its employees and engineers located 

in Oklahoma and then manufactured in the Chinese facility. Wilspec owns the design, agency 

certifications, tooling, and other aspects of the production process and holds and audits their 

Chinese contractor to insure the same standards that they hold their own manufacturing facilities. 

There are no US companies that make the parts in the USA that Wilspec makes. By contract, the 

Chinese manufacturer is not permitted to use Wilspec designs, tooling, or engineering for 

purposes other than Wilspec parts for Wilspec.

Wilspec has invested millions of dollars over a span on 15 years to consistently provide 

its customers with quality products that are cost competitive in a price sensitive market. Such 

investments have consisted of: Wilspec’s oversight of property, building certifications, product 

specific equipment, product specific tooling, lean manufacturing lines, quality control, customer 

audits, as well as maintaining all agency certifications (UL, TUV, ISO, and others), supply chain, 

and an experienced labor force which are necessary to build a custom product. Wilspec has never 

manufactured these products in the USA. The cost of these investments by Wilspec is 

substantial, both in human capital, time and money. Even assuming these investments could be 

replicated elsewhere in a location with suitable supply chain, it would not be without substantial 

time, loss of business and significant new capital investment.

Wilspec has invested time and energy to make sure the manufacturing facility in China is 

held to the highest manufacturing standards in order to serve both the U. S. and the Global 
market. Wilspec customers are located in countries around the world, including the United 

States, China and Europe. The largest percentage of the Wilspec customers are located in the 

United States.

A 25% increase in cost will render Wilspec much less competitive in the market and 

result in driving up product cost that would have to be passed on to the American HVAC 

OEM’s, in turn forcing American HVAC OEM’s to either raise their prices to U.S. consumers or 

stop sourcing these parts from Wilspec and instead source other cheaper, less reliable, shortlived, less efficient, lower quality products from third parties, likely made in China by Chinese 

owned companies with lower standards or another country. No comparable products are 

manufactured in the United States.

As such, Wilspec respectfully requests that its electrical contactors classifiable under 

8536.49.0065 be excluded from the applicable 301 duties. 

II. INFORMATION REGARDING THE REQUESTOR, AN INTERESTED PARTY

Wilspec is an Oklahoma-based manufacturer of premium HVAC and refrigeration 

components. Wilspec is a privately-owned company. Founded in 2000 and owned by Larry 

Wilhelm, Wilspec began as a small company and has expanded to include global warehousing 

and sales offices in five countries. Wilspec employs 20 people in the United states and 187 

abroad in Germany and China. Wilspec focuses primarily on designing, engineering and 

building premium components in a cost-effective way to enable its OEM manufacturing 

customers to continue their HVAC production despite the absence of such HVAC parts 

manufacturers in the United States. There are no US companies that make the parts in the USA 

that Wilspec makes.
Wilspec has survived in this market by providing competitive pricing, reliable products, 

excellent customer service, global warehousing and logistics operations, and importing parts

from both its independently-owned factory and third-party manufacturing facilities operating 

under contract in China.

III. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT AT ISSUE

The products at issue are certain electrical contactors, classifiable under 8536.49.0065:

8536: Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for 

making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example, switches, 

relays, fuses, surge suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders and other 

connectors, junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V; 

connectors for optical fibers, optical fiber bundles or cables:

8536.49: Other;

8536.49.0065: Contactors

A. Product Description

“Definite Purpose Contactors” is essentially an electric switch used to allow small control 

components in a system to switch large electrical loads in a safe manner and more cost 

effectively. Contactors provide indirect control for large electrical loads by closing magnetically.
Wilspec’s electrical contactors are used in lighting control for office building and large 

lighting installations use Contactors to reduce power consumption, magnetic starter to provide 

power to electric motors (such Contactors also provide power cut-off, as well as under voltage 

and overload protection), and anyone building Industrial Control Systems, for example, control 

boxes, low stress mobile applications, and building automation systems.

The primary market for Wilspec’s electrical contactors are commercial and residential

HVAC, ice and beverage machines, commercial refrigeration, transport HVAC and refrigeration, 

and truck/ORHV suspension.

Wilspec’s electrical contactors feature: a 1 million mechanical cycle life, availability in 

1-4 pole configurations, premium silver alloy contacts for extended electrical cycle life, excellent 

contact geometry and silver thickness for extended electrical cycle life, and higher insulation 

designed electro-magnetic coil (uses higher quality glass-reinforced resin).
BUISNESS CONFIDENTIAL

IV. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE EXCLUSION

If Wilspec is not granted an exclusion, the imposed tariff will drastically limit its ability 

to remain competitive in a price sensitive market. Wilspec would face potential losses in the 

millions of dollars due to the likely loss of business when Wilspec has to pass along the 

increased cost of products to end customers. Loss of business would drastically impact Wilspec’s 

global and U.S. staff and potentially cause significant layoffs, not only in the United States, but 

also its other global locations. Financially, Wilspec would suffer severe loss in profits which 

would limit its ability to reinvest in the company. Wilspec being a privately-owned corporation 

does not have outside investors to offset any profits lost due to an imposed 25% tariff. The 

majority of Wilspec’s profits are used to reinvest in manufacturing, marketing, business 

development, laboratory equipment, tooling, agency certifications, etc.

By imposing a 25% duty rate, the financial impact would be between $7.5 million and

$12 million dollars and will severely harm Wilspec’s ability to profit and reinvest in the 

aforementioned ways. If Wilspec is not able to earn and reinvest its profits, it would be unable to 

open another facility to manufacture parts, and severely restrict Wilspec’s ability to meet 

customer demand globally and domestically at a competitive price. If demand to its customers 

cannot be met, customer production lines could shut down, adversely affecting thousands of 

employees, causing millions of dollars in downtime, and damage to end users of HVAC systems 

in the United States.

A. Quantity and Value of Chinese-Origin Product

[ ]
B. Availability from China and Unavailability in the U. S. and Other Countries

At present, there are no U.S., Chinese, or other Country suppliers that can manufacture an 

equivalent of this Wilspec-designed product. Wilspec products are customized to each of its 

customers application, agency certified, and customer approved. It would take a minimum of 1.5 

to 2 years to establish manufacturing facilities outside of China, including equipment, tooling, 

agency certification, significant funds, and customer approval.

C. Percentage Total Gross Sales that Chinese-Origin Parts Account For

Wilspec manufactures air conditioner, heat pump, and refrigeration parts powered by 

motor driven fans. Wilspec does not manufacture the air conditioners, rather, it sells parts to 

companies that do. The Chinese-origin electrical contactors make up about 8% of Wilspec’s 

sales.

D. China 2025 Program

Wilspec’s imported parts are not part of the China 2025 program. The components 

imported by Wilspec are valves, switches, and other assorted electrical parts. Wilspec does not 

provide any technological advancements to Chinese industry as a result of these purchases.
V. Conclusion

In light of the foregoing, we respectfully request that Wilspec be excluded from the 

applicable duties.