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 I 

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

This exclusion request is for part number 1001410921 . The product is a compressor for commercial vehicle air 

conditioners. The product has a maximum length of 168.5 mm x 210 mm x 197.5 mm. The product is made of 

aluminum, steel, rubber, magnet, wire winding, oil, and potting material. The product is sold to customers for use in 

truck, construction, and agricultural machines in the commercial vehicles industry. The product is packaged in bulk 

in gaylord containers, skidded, labeled and shrink-wrapped. It is shipped in ocean containers. The Bergstrom Part 

Number, Part Description, HTS Code, and Purchase Order # are printed on the commercial invoice. The part 

number is also affixed to the label and carton. This distinguishes the product from other imported products and 

facilitates the administration of this exclusion by CBP. 

3. IO-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/ 

8414304000 

4. Requestor Information 

Requestor Name (Last, First): !Gregg, Joanne 

:::::===================================::::::: 

Organization Name: ... IB_e_r_,.g.._s_tr_o_m""",_I_n_c_. _____________________ ___. 

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

Requestor Representative: !David Hamill, Arent Fox LLP 

5. Requestor's relationship to the product: ... II_m"""p_o_r_te_r ___________________ ~ 

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

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 
END 2

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

VERSION 1

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).

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

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.

2016

2015

201

2016

2015

201

NO

NO

 $60,220.00 801 pcs 

$0.00* 0 pcs*

$0.00* 0 pcs*

See attached for arguments in support of this exclusion request. * The product was not imported in 

2015 and 2016.

7Value: 7 Quantity: 

Value: Quantity: 

Value: Quantity: 
~ Bergstrom. 

October 5, 2018 

VIA REGULATIONS.GOV 

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer 

U.S. Trade Representative 

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 

600 17th Street, NW, Room F516 

Washington, D.C., 20006 

PUBLIC DOCUMENT 

Docket No. USTR-2018-0025 

Re: Request for Exclusion of Compressors under 8414. 3 0.4000 from the Determination of 

Action Pursuant to Section 301 

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer: 

Bergstrom Inc. ("Bergstrom") respectfully submits this request for exclusion of 

compressors for commercial vehicle air conditioners from the proposed determination of action 

pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. 1 This request is timely filed, pursuant to the 

U.S. Trade Representative's ("USTR") instructions set form in the Section 301 Determination. 2 

Bergstrom designs and manufactures cab climate systems for heavy-duty commercial 

trucks, off-highway machinery, and specialty vehicles. From humble beginnings as a producer of 

heaters for Carpenter & Thomas School Buses in 1952, we have grown into one of the world's 

leading manufacturers of climate control solutions for the commercial vehicle industry. 

1 19 U.S.C. § 2411. 

2 Procedures to Consider Requests.for Exclusion of Particular Products From the Determination 

of Action Pursuant to Section 301: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology 

Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation, 83 Fed. Reg. 32,181 (USTR July 11, 2018). 

2390 Blackhawk Road• P.O. Box 6007 • Rockford , IL 61125 • .bergstrominc.com • 1.815.874.7821 
----------------------------

Bergstrom is headquartered in Rockford, Illinois and today employs 1,600 workers worldwide. 

In addition to our 32-acre facility in Rockford, which has been the hub of our operations 

since 1971, we have a second facility in Rockford dedicated to service parts, a contract assembly 

plant dedicated to assembling cabs for Caterpillar in Joliet, Illinois, and a manufacturing plant 

servicing OEM customers in San Antonio, Texas. In total, our U.S. facilities employ 559 salaried 

and fully benefited workers. We also have facilities in Wales, United Kingdom, Changzhou, 

China, and Madrid, Spain. 

This exclusion request addresses compressors for commercial vehicle air conditioners 

classified under HTSUS subheading 8414.30.4000, which are currently subject to the 25% 

additional Section 301 tariff. The imposition of the tariff will negatively impact Bergstrom's 

U.S. operations and our U.S. employees. Please note that a separate Section 301 Investigation 

Form to Request Exclusion of Product has been submitted for each unique part number for which 

we are requesting an exclusion. 

In accordance with the procedures released by the Office of the United States Trade 

Representative ("USTR"),3 Bergstrom provides the following information requested by the 

USTR in support of this request. 

[2] 
1. Availability of the product outside of China, i.e. whether the particular product 

and/or a comparable product is available from sources in the United States and/or 

in third countries 

Bergstrom is not aware of any immediately available U.S. or third-country sources for the 

same or comparable products. Any supplier change would require a multi-year process to 

identify and establish a new source, complete testing, and obtain compliance approvals. 

Bergstrom has more than 65 years of experience in the climate control industry. For the 

past 20 years, we have sourced the compressors for commercial vehicle air conditioners that are 

the subject of this exclusion request from our wholly owned facility in China. Production of the 

subject compressors is based on well-established technology and the compressors have become a 

commodity product. We shifted production of this and other low-cost components to China in 

1998 to protect our higher technology manufacturing operations in the United States. Higher 

technology components and complete HV AC systems are produced by top engineering 

professionals using state-of-the-art equipment at our facility in Rockford, Illinois. Use of our 

global supply chain has allowed for our continued growth and protected hundreds of downstream 

manufacturing jobs in the United States. 

Our major OEM customers require significant validation and a rigorous approval process 

based on the Automotive Industry Action Group ("AIAG") Pre-Production Approval Process 

("PPAP"). Bergstrom China, our Chinese facility, is wholly-owned to best protect our assets and 

to provide us with complete control over the production of our components in China. We have 

found our current global supply chain model to be the best option for sourcing these products and 

any disruptions caused by the proposed tariffs will result in serious inefficiencies and increased 

costs for our business and our customers in the automotive OEM and aftermarket. 

[3] 
---------------- ~----------~ 

While it may be possible to source the compressors from other countries, any transition to 

third-country suppliers would take 18-24 months and significant investment of resources due to 

the comprehensive approval process required by OEMs in the automotive industry. Thus, no 

comparable products are immediately available. 

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

severe economic harm to the requester or other US interests 

The products imported by Bergstrom are components of climate control systems that are 

used to support domestic manufacturing operations and jobs in the United States. The 

imposition of a 25% tariff on these parts could cause severe economic harm to U.S. interests, 

including our employees and customers. Our downstream manufacturing operations in Rockford, 

Illinois and San Antonio, Texas, which employ 125 workers, some of which have worked at our 

facilities for decades, will specifically be threatened. Because our U.S. facilities depend on the 

sourcing of products from China, we may be forced to shift production overseas to remain 

competitive in the U.S. market, resulting in the loss of up to 300 American manufacturing jobs. 

Additionally, if Bergstrom absorbs the tariff on any of these products, our profitability 

will be damaged, which could hurt our ability to invest in innovative technologies, U.S. facilities 

and American workforce training and development. If the additional tariffs will be passed on to 

U.S. consumers through higher prices, our significant downstream manufacturing operations in 

the United States will be threatened because the customers in this highly competitive industry 

will simply refuse to accept such a price increase. Furthermore, because we supply products to 

customers in the U.S. automotive OEM and aftermarket, the additional tariffs will have 

substantial and lasting negative effects on U.S. businesses in the trucking, off-highway, school 

[4] 
bus, military, and mining sectors. Given the potential negative impact on Bergstrom, our 

employees, customers, and U.S. businesses, we respectfully request that you grant this exclusion 

request. 

3. Whether the particular product is strategically important or related to "Made in 

China 2025" or other Chinese industrial programs 

The imposition of a 25% tariff on compressors for commercial vehicle air conditioners 

will not impact the Chinese intellectual property violations they seek to eliminate. Section 301 

tariffs should be specifically targeted at products that have benefitted from the China's acts, 

policies, and practices detailed in the USTR's Section 301 Report. The compressors at issue have 

not benefited from China's discriminatory licensing requirements, foreign ownership restrictions, 

state-funded acquisitions, or state-backed hacking operations. Bergstrom voluntarily formed a 

wholly owned foreign entity in China in 1998, over which we maintain 100 % ownership. 

Bergstrom has never transferred any intellectual property rights to Chinese producers and none 

of our company's intellectual property is currently being used by our Chinese facility. Indeed, 

the compressors at issue have been in the marketplace for more than 20 years and do not contain 

sensitive technology or intellectual property. Furthermore, the subject compressors are produced 

for our exclusive use, namely the downstream production of climate control systems in the 

United States. 

[5] 
We appreciate the Department's consideration of this exclusion request. Please contact 

the undersigned if you have any questions regarding this submission. 

I hereby certify that the information provided is complete and correct to the best of my 

knowledge. 

[6] 

Respectfully submitted, 

Name: Joann Gregg 

Title: Director, Global Logistics and 

Trade Compliance 

Company: Bergstrom Inc. 

Contact: JGregg@bergstrominc.com