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 203088. The product is a 12 VDC series wound field two speed motor used for moving 

air in heaters for school buses. The product has a 75.44 mm outer diameter x 90 mm long with a 35 mm long shaft. The product 

is made of steel tubular outer housing with cast aluminum endbells, steel shaft, lamination stack armature, magnet, wire 

windings, brush and brush card commutator and ball bearings. This product is rated at 9 amps at 13.5 VDC with 30 in-oz of 

torque at 3100 RPM. The product is sold to customers for use in forced air coolant heaters for school buses in the pupil 

transportation 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 a decal mounted on the product and packaging. 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/ 

8501312000 

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

$26,308.80 2,520 pcs

$10,107.44 1,926 pcs

$59,194.80 5,670 pcs

See attached for arguments in support of this exclusion request.

7Value: 7 Quantity: 

Value: Quantity: 

Value: Quantity: 
~Bergstrom 

October 5, 201 8 

VIA REGULATIONS.GOV 

The Honorable Robert :. Lighthizer 

.. Trade R presentati\c 

Office of the lL. Trade Rcpr sentative 

600 17th • treet. 'W. Room F- I 6 

Wa hington. D. .. 20006 

PUBLJ DOCUMENT 

Docket o. USTR-2018-002 -

R Reques1.fc,r Erdusion (~/DC Mowrs under cU0J .3/.2000/rom the De1erminatio11 (~l 

Auion Pursuant 10. eclion JOI 

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer: 

Bergstrom Inc. r·Berg trom .. ) re ·pectfully suhmits this request for exclusion of DC 

motor from th " propo ed dct rmination of action pur ·uant to 'ection ~O I or th I rade Act of 

197-L I Thi request is timely fil d. pur uant to the U.:. Tratl Reprcscntati\t:~· · r·c TR"') 

in tructions set form in the cction 30! Determination.-

H rgstrom designs and manufactures cab climute systems for hca\y duty comml!rcial 

trucks. off-highway machine1"). and specialty vehicles. From humble beginning a. a producer of 

heater for Carpenter & Thoma · chool Bu. cs in 19-2. we have grcm n into one of the world' 

leading manufa turer nr climatt: control. olution for th commercial vehicl industry. 

Bergstrom is h adquartcred in Rockford. Illinois and today employ· 1.600 worker:. worldwide. 

1 19 U ... 2411. 

1 Procedures tv Consider Reque. ·1sfi1r F,xc/usion of Partic:ular Products From lhe Deter111ina1io11 

<d Action P11rs11a111 lo. eel ion 301: China ·s Aa,. Policies. and Pruc:lic:es Re!llled to Technology 

Tran fer. Jntellecnwl Properly. and lnnol'C.llion. 83 Fed. Reg. 32. I 81 (U. TR July 11. 20 I 8). 

2390 Blackhawk Road• PO Box 6007 • Rockford, IL 61125 • bergstrominc com · 1 815.874 7821 
---~- ----- --- --------------

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

since 1971. we have a second facility in Roel ford dedicated to service parts. a contrnct 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 .. facilities employ 559 salaried 

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

China. and Madrid. Spain. 

This exclusion request addresses DC motors classified under HTS S subheading 

8501.31.2000. which are curTently subject to the 25% additional Section 301 tariff. The 

impo. ition of the tariff will negati cly impact Bergstrom·s U.S. operations and our 

employees. Please note that a separate Section 301 Investigation Form to Reque t Exclusion of 

Product has been submitted for each unique pa11 number for v hich we are requesting an 

exclusion. 

In accordance with the procedures rel ea ed by the Office of the Uni Led tates Trade 

Represcntali e c· STR".).3 Bergstrom provides the following informaliun n:questcd by the 

USTR in suppo11 of this request. 

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 .S. or third-cmmtry sources for th 

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. 

[2] 
Bergstrom has more than 65 • ears of experience in the climate control industry. For the 

past 20 years. ,:vc have . ourced the DC motors that ar the subj ect of' this exclusion request from 

our wholly mimed facility in China. Production of the ubject DC motors is based on welleslabl-ished technology and the motors have become a commodity product. We shi!led 

production of this and other low-cost components to China in l 998 to protect our higher 

technology manufacturing operations in the United States. Higher technology components and 

complete IIV AC systems are produced by top engineering professionals using state-of-the-art 

equipm nt at our facility in Rockford. Tllinois. U e of our global suppl_ chain has allowed fix 

our continued growth and protected hundreds of downstream manufacturing jobs in the United 

States. 

Our major OEM customers require signi(icant validation and a rigorou approval process 

bas don the Automotive Industry Action Group (""AIAG'") Pre-Production Approval Process 

('·PPAP""). Bergstrom China. our Chinese facility, is wholly-owned to be t 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 ourcing these products and 

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

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

While it may be possible to source the DC motors from other countries. any transition lo 

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

the comprehensive approval process required by OEMs in th automotive indusn-y. Thus. no 

comparable products are immediately available. 

[3] 
2. Whether the imposition of additional duties on the particular product would cause 

severe economic harm to the requester or other US interests 

The producLs impo11cd by Bergstrom are component of climate control systems thar arc 

used to support domestic manufacturing operation and jobs in the nitcd 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. 

111inois and Sru1 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. v e may be forced to shift production overseas to remain 

competitive in the .S. market. resulting in the loss of up to 300 American manufacturing job . 

Additionall , 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. . . facilities 

and American workforce training and de\'elopment. If the additional tru-iffs will be pa sed on to 

U .. consw11ers through higher prices, our significant downstream manufacturing operations in 

the United Stares will be threaten~d 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 atlermarket. the additional tariffs will have 

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

bus. military. and mining sector . Given the potential negative impact on Bergstrom. our 

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

request. 

[4] 
~- ------ - -----

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

China 202-'' or other Chine e industrial program!-

-, he imposition of a _-%tariff on DC mo Lor will not impact the Chine ·e intellectual 

propert violations they seek to eliminate. , ection 301 tariff should be specifically targeted at 

product · that have bencfittcd from the China· act . policies. and practice detailed in th 

U TR' cction 301 Report. The DC motor at i.suc have not benefiled from China·s 

discriminatory liccn. ing requirem nts. foreign ov, m:r hip r strict ion . tat -funded acquisitions. 

or tate-baekcd hacking op rations. B-rgstrom ,oluntarily formed a ,\holl) o,\ne<l foreign entity 

in China in I 998. over which we maintain I 00 % owner hip. 8 rgstrom has ne er transferred 

any intellectual property rights to Chines!.! producer · and none of our comprui) · intell ctual 

property is currently being used by our .hinese facility. Indeed. the DC motors at issue have 

been in the marketplace for more thru1 20 year and do not contain en ·ici,,e technology or 

intellectual property. Furthermore. the ·ubject DC motors arc produced for our exclu i e us . 

namely the do, n trcam production of climate control y terns in the nit d State .. 

[5] 
- - ~- - -- -

\ e appreciat the D partment con ideration of thi exclusion request. Pl ase contact the 

undersigned if you h ve any qu :en ions regarding this submission. 

J h r b) cert if) that th informa1ion prm ided is omplctc and correct to the be tor m) 

knO\ ledge. 

[6] 

Resp1;:ctfully submjtted. 

Logi ·tic and 

Trade Compliance 

Company: Berg trom Inc. 

Contact: JGn:ggla,)b rg trominc.com