9701 E. Highland Drive 800.327.9209 TEL

Jonesboro, AR 72401 

www.fmhconveyors.com

October 8, 2018 

Submitted via regulations.gov

Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer

U.S. Trade Representative

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

600 17th Street NW

Washington, DC 20508

RE: Request 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 (USTR-2018-0025)

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer:

Duravant LLC (“Duravant”) and FMH Conveyors Americas (“FMH Conveyors”) hereby 

submits this request to exclude items under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 

(“HTS”) subheading 8431.39.0010 from the additional ad valorem duty of 25 percent on 

approximately $34 billion worth of Chinese imports.76

Duravant, headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, is a global engineered equipment company 

with an over 100-year operating history focused on manufacturing, sales, and service facilities 

throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. We are proud to employee 2,100 people 

worldwide and 1,600 in the U.S. Through our portfolio of various operating companies, we 

deliver trusted end-to-end process solutions for customers and partners through engineering and 

integration expertise, project management and operational excellence. Our operating companies 

have worldwide sales distribution and service networks that provide immediate and lifetime 

aftermarket support to all markets they serve in the food processing, packaging, and material 

handling sectors. Our customers are in a variety of markets, including frozen foods, hardware, 

pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, snack foods, and electronic components.

FMH Conveyors, a Duravant operating company headquartered in Jonesboro, Arkansas, leads 

the design, manufacture, service and supply of conveyor suppliers throughout the U.S., Canada 

and Latin America. We have over 87 years of expertise and leadership in material handling and 

are proud to employee over 300 Americans. FMH Conveyors’ products, known for their 

durability and reliability, are engineered to support material handling applications for distribution 

 

76 Notice of Action and Request for Public Comment Concerning Proposed Determination of Action Pursuant to\

Section 301: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and 

Innovation, 83 Fed. Reg. 28710 (Jun. 20, 2018). 
2

centers, e-commerce, parcel post, retail stores, and a variety of manufacturers to help maximize 

productivity and increase efficiency. FMH customers include the world’s largest distribution 

and retail giants like Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target. 

Overall, while Duravant and FMH Conveyors support and understand U.S. Trade 

Representative’s (“USTR’s”) objectives to curb China’s predatory and unfair practices and 

policies, the Section 301 tariffs on FMH Conveyors’ products have forced us to take undesirable 

business actions impacting our customers and consumers. We simply cannot afford to absorb the 

costs of the tariffs if we want to remain competitive in our market. As detailed below, we 

request that USTR exclude 8431.39.0010 from the Section 301 tariff because FMH Conveyors 

cannot source our products outside of China without major disruption and extreme costs, the 

tariff will result in significant financial harm to FMH Conveyors, and tariffs on its products will 

not be effective in curbing China’s practices and policies. 

CI. Product Description

We request that USTR exclude the H Frame 20" that is imported under HTS subheading 

8431.39.0010. 

Item: #HFRAME376-24AL, H Frame 20"

HTS subheading: 8431.39.0010

Item Description: H-shaped welded frame. Used as a part in a conveyor system.

Material(s): Steel

Item Size (inches H x W x D): 20 x 24

Item Weight (pounds): 1.00

CII. Duravant and FMH Conveyors Cannot Source the H Frame 20" From 

Countries Outside Of China without Major Disruption to our Supply Chain and 

Extreme Costs to our Companies. 

Shifting to a non-Chinese source for H Frame 20" is not a viable option at this time. We have 

explored the possibility of sourcing this product from the U.S. and other countries, but this is 

extremely impractical given the prohibitive cost disadvantages of other countries such as labor 

and raw material costs. 

Forcing FMH Conveyors to source our products from outside of China would result in a serious 

interruption to our overall supply chain with many additional costs that we will not be able to 

justify or fund due to the extensive impact of the current tariffs. Global supply chains are 

extremely complex and it has taken us over ten years to find the right partners who can meet the 

proper criteria, pass the laborious quality inspection process, and produce products at the scale 

and cost that is needed. 

While some manufacturing of the H Frame 20" occurs in the U.S., there is currently not enough 

manufacturing capacity to meet the high demand of our customers. Because of this limited 

manufacturing capacity, in order to shift our sourcing to the U.S. a new facility that creates the H 

Frame 20" would need to be built. However, due to permitting and funding requirements to 
3

build such a facility, it would take years to build that manufacturing capacity, in which time we 

would lose our market in America. 

Duravant and FMH Conveyors respectfully request that USTR not force business decisions 

through burdensome tariffs. We ask USTR’s support in providing us the opportunity us to make 

supply chain and other business decisions based on global market conditions – this is how our 

companies have grown and remained competitive for over 100 years. 

CIII. The Imposition of this Duty on the H Frame 20" Significantly Harms Duravant 

and FMH Conveyors’ Business, Our Customers, and American Consumers. 

As you can tell from the below information, we import a significant amount of the H Frame 20" 

from China and imposition of this duty on this product will significantly harm Duravant and 

FMH Conveyors, particularly when considering the cumulative impact of the Section 301 tariff 

on all of our products imported from China. 

Year Value (dollars) Quantity

2015 [ [

2016 [ [

2017 [ [

Our products are already subject to a steep 10 and 25 percent duty. Imposing the Section 301 

tariff on FMH Conveyors’ products, including the H Frame 20", causes irreparable harm to our 

businesses. The cumulative impact of the Section 301 tariff costs FMH Conveyors over [ 

] dollars per year. Loss of FMH Conveyors’ profitability affects Duravant as a whole 

because FMH Conveyors makes up approximately [ ] of our material handling segment 

and [ ] of Duravant’s profits overall. Because these tariffs will [

], our growth strategy for our business is negatively impacted. Instead of being able invest 

any profits from the FMH Conveyors business line in to the growth of Duravant, we would 

instead be forced to increase the price of our products. 

Given the harm resulting from the tariff, FMH Conveyors is forced to take undesirable means for 

relief that will impact FMH Conveyors’ customers and consumers. FMH Conveyors must 

increases prices for its products. Our retail customers will then seek to pass these costs along, 

resulting in higher prices for American consumers. However, not all of our customers will allow 

us to pass along the costs given our highly price sensitive market and fixed-price contracts. We 

are forced to absorb the costs for those we cannot pass along, resulting in a great hit to our 

profitability. 

Additionally, our market includes several international competitors who source their materials 

and products from China. The Section 301 tariff provides them with a competitive advantage as 

they are not subject to the tariff, while harming U.S. businesses that source and purchase the 

same materials and products. 
4

CIV. Imposing the Ad Valorem Tariff under Section 301 on the H Frame 20" Will Not 

Be Effective in Eliminating China’s Predatory Acts. 

USTR’s Section 301 report found that various policies and practices of the Chinese government 

are designed to promote Chinese companies as leaders in supplying certain advanced 

technologies around the world and to reduce imports of these technologies that Chinese 

industries rely upon. According to USTR and the White House’s Office of Trade and 

Manufacturing policy, China has participated in physical and cyber-enabled theft of 

technologies, required technology transfer for market access, and investment restrictions, among 

other coercive and intrusive restrictions that harm American intellectual property rights, 

innovation, and technology development.77

According to the various Section 301 reports, the technologies that China targets through its 

policies are advanced technologies in the following industries: (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.78

Notably, the H Frame 20" and its manufacture are not among the list of advanced technologies or 

industries that are targeted by the Chinese government policies.

The H Frame 20" does not contain sensitive technology or intellectual property that is the target

of China’s practices. Because Duravant and FMH Conveyors’ products do not contain sensitive 

technology or intellectual property that is the target of China’s practices, we have not 

experienced any of the intellectual property theft, cyber theft, or other technology-related 

compilations that advanced technology industries have faced.

Due to these factors, we believe that targeting these tariffs on the H Frame 20" is misplaced and 

will not curb China’s predatory policies, and instead negatively impact our businesses, customers 

and U.S. consumers. 

* * *

Duravant and FMH Conveyors appreciate the opportunity to request this exclusion from the 

Section 301 tariffs. While we understand and support the motivation for fair trade policies and a 

level playing field, we respectfully request that the H Frame 20" imported from China under 

HTS subheading H Frame 20" be exempt from the additional 25 percent ad valorem duty 

because the tariff will have a significant detrimental impact on Duravant and FMH Conveyors, 

the businesses we supply, and U.S. consumers.

 

77 USTR, 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 1–2 (Mar. 22, 2018) [hereinafter 

Section 301 Findings]; Office of Trace and Manufacturing Policy, Executive Office of the President, How China’s 

Economic Aggression Threatens the Technologies and Intellectual Property of the United States and World (Jun. 

2018) [hereinafter China’s Economic Aggression].

78 Section 301 Findings, at 14. 
5

Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Craig Reuther

Craig Reuther

Chief Financial Officer

Duravant LLC

/s/ Raman Joshi

Raman Joshi

President

FMH Conveyors Americas