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 Supco 95057WK Model is a 5/2 or 7 day programmable, or non-programmable wail mounted Wr-Fi thermostat to 

control heat and air conditioning in the home, and is compatible up to 3 heat/2 cool heat pump systems, up to 2 

heat/2 cool conventional systems, and 24 VAC gas, oil or electrical systems. This model features a Large 5 square 

inch display with a bright blue backlight, has residential or commercial mode, and has an auxiliary heat fossil fuel 

option. This model also has auto or manual changeover and programmable fan control Further, this model has 

superior wireless range, optional wireless outdoor sensing for outdoor temperature display or balance point control, 

optional wireless humidity plenum sensor for whole-house humidification control, and can connect up to four optional 

wireless indoor sensors for remote temperature sensing. 

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 

Braeburn 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: Importer 

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: N/A - Did not import 2017 Quantity: N/A - Did not import 

2016 Value: N/A - Did not import 2016 Quantity: N/A - Did not import 

2015 Value: $22,942.08 2015 Quantity: 504 

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 comet to the best of his or 

her knowledge. Please see attached letter. 

VERSION 1 END 2 
MMUS' "w4k BRAUMILLER 

suMkr MIX LAW GROUP, PLLC 

11.1, INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW 

Submitted Via WWWRegulations.Gov 

September 26, 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, Supco (privately-owned brand of Braeburn) BlueLink Smart 95057WK 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 or 

7 day programmable, or non-programmable wall mounted Wi-Fi thermostat to control heat and 

air conditioning in the home, and is compatible up to 3 heat/2 cool heat pump systems, up to 2 

heat/2 cool conventional systems, and 24 VAC gas, oil or electrical systems. This model features 

a Large 5 square inch display with a bright blue backlight, has residential or commercial mode, 

and has an auxiliary heat fossil fuel option. This model also has auto or manual changeover and 

programmable fan control. Further, this model has superior wireless range, optional wireless 

outdoor sensing for outdoor temperature display or balance point control, optional wireless 

humidity plenum sensor for whole-house humidification control, and can connect up to four 

optional wireless indoor sensors for remote temperature sensing. See Attachment A for a 

description of the thermostat. 

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

Of( 014) i48- 9306 FAX. 0141 )1 /-9303 101,14REE: (877) 277 5987 

WWW.BRAUMILLERLAW.COM 
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 

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. Braebum 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. 

The subject model was last imported in 2015 at a total cost of under twenty-five thousand dollars. 

Braeburn intends to begin production of this model again in the near future. This future 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 a valuable product line that Braebum has produced in the past, and 

intends to produce in the future. 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. Braeburn 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 

Page 2 

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

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 Supco BlueLink Smart 

95057WK Model be granted an exclusion of the 25% Section 301 tariff. Importation of this product 

does not undermine the U.S. government policy toward the "Made in China 2025" program and 

would only be detrimental to the economic viability of this small sized U.S. company. Braeburn 

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

Best regards, 

Adrienne Digitally 

sidrienne

gned by Adrienne ...lief 

DN: cn=A Draurniller, o=Bratinsiller 

Law Group, PUG, ois. 

email.adriennegbraurnillerlaw.con, 

Adrienne Braumiller, Partner. 

Trade Counsel for Braeburn Systems LLC 

2 United 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: 

tittps://ustrqovlsitesktefa ultifiles/Section%20301%20FI NAL. PDF. 

Page 3 

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ATTACHMENT A 
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PROCOMM SERIES 

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THE RIGHT CHOICE 

SEALED UNIT PARTS CO., INC. 

PO Box 21, 2230 Landmark Place 

Allenwood, NJ 08720 USA 

800-333-9125 • wwwsupco.com 

95057WK 

Wireless 

Thermostat Kit 

powered by 

BlueLinI4 

smart connect " 

Features / Benefits 

• 5-2, 7 Day or Non-Programmable 

• Large 5 Sq. In. Backlit Display 

• Auto or Manual Changeover 

• Residential or Commercial Modes 

• Battery Powered with Hardwire Option 

• Compatible with 2 or 3 Wire Hydronic 

Zone Systems 

• Auxiliary Heat Fossil Fuel Option 

• Programmable Fan Control 

• R and C Terminals for Optional 24 Volt Operation 

Wireless Features 

• Superior Wireless Range 

• Battery Life Exceeds Virtually All 

Competitive Models 

• Includes Return Air Sensor for Default 

Temperature Control Even if Batteries are Drained 

• Connect up to 4 Optional Wireless Indoor Sensors 

for Remote Temperature Sensing* 

• Optional Wireless Outdoor Sensing for Outdoor 

Temperature Display or Balance Point Control* 

• Optional Wireless Humidity Plenum Sensor for 

Whole-House Humidification Control* 

• Affordable Solution for Any Thermostat Application 

*Up to 4 wireless remote sensors can be connected. 

Compatibility 

• Up to 3 Heat / 2 Cool Heat Pump Systems 

Up to 2 Heat / 2 Cool Conventional Systems 

• 24 VAC Gas, Oil or Electric Systems, Millivolt