Public Document

This exclusion request is for product number 30736-PLP003, a pole piece weighing 35.9 grams and made 

of SAE 1008 steel. It is a steel pole attachment used in the manufacture of engine cam drive phasing 

variable force solenoid pole piece components by our OEM customer in the automotive industry. Its 

commercial name is Variable Force Solenoid Component and is shipped packed in cardboard boxes with 

the product number clearly indicated on the accompanying invoices as well as the "Likay" to distinguish 

this product from other imported products and facilitates the administration of this exclusion by CBP. 

8481909040

Hastrich, Michael

BorgWarner Emissions Systems

David Hamill, Partner, Arent Fox LLP

Purchaser

YES

Public Document
NO

NO

$0.00* 0 units*

$0.00* 0 units*

$0.00* 0 units*

* This is a new product that has not historically been imported, but will be imported in the 

upcoming months due to previously planned production.

See attached for arguments in support of this exclusion request.
BorgWarner Inc. World Headquarters 3850 Hamlin Road 

Auburn Hills 

Michigan 48326, USA 

Tel: +1 248-754-0422 

October 8, 2018 

VIA REGULATIONS.GOV PUBLIC DOCUMENT 

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer Docket No. USTR-2018-0025 

U.S. Trade Representative 

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 

600 17th Street, NW, Room F516 

Washington, D.C., 20006 

Re: Request for Exclusion of Push Pin Part 30736-PPN006; C Pole 30736-CPL015 and Pole 

Piece Part 30736-PLP003 from the Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer: 

BorgWarner respectfully submits this request for exclusion of this push pin, pole piece 

and C Pole from the proposed determination of action pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act 

of 1974.1

BorgWarner is a global product leader in clean and efficient technology solutions for 

combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles. With manufacturing and technical facilities in 66 

locations in 18 countries, we employ approximately 29,000 people worldwide. BorgWarner has 

evolved from a powertrain supplier to a vehicle propulsion company that is playing a major role 

in creating our vision of a clean, energy-efficient world. 

Our company’s origins date back to the 1880s in the United States and we have grown to 

a $9.8 billion publicly-traded company today. BorgWarner’s growth in the last century is the 

1

 19 U.S.C. § 2411. 
PUBLIC DOCUMENT Page 2 

result of the expansion of new markets due to public policies that supported international trade. 

As an American company headquartered in the Auburn Hills, Michigan, we employ over 6,300 

people in 16 manufacturing and technical centers in eight states across the nation. 

Our company uses a local-for-local supply chain strategy and we source regionally when 

it is possible. In the U.S. we have a 65% supplier localization rate and our direct material 

purchases total over $1 billion annually, with approximately 700 U.S.-based suppliers. 

Additionally, with our main R&D center for the U.S. in Auburn Hills, Michigan with four other 

R&D centers in the states of Michigan, Indiana, North Carolina, and New York. 

BorgWarner Inc. currently holds over 60% of our intellectual property in the U.S. Since 

2012, BorgWarner has invested 600 new jobs and over $530 million in capital investments in the 

U.S. 

This exclusion request addresses the push pin, C Pole and pole piece classified under 

HTSUS subheading 8481.90.9040, which are currently subject to the 25% additional Section 301 

tariff. 

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

Representative (“USTR”),2 BorgWarner provides the following information requested by the 

USTR in support of this request. 

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). 
PUBLIC DOCUMENT Page 3 

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 

These products are only available from China due to high volume requirements and tight 

specifications. The process to validate a new supplier will require extensive testing to validate 

the product, both for our purposes as well as our OEM customers. This testing, depending on the 

customer requirements, may take up to twelve months but no less than nine months to complete, 

jeopardizing production schedules for us and downstream manufacturing. More importantly 

perhaps, as we noted above, there is significant risk involved with the quality and delivery 

aspects of this validation; this risk may cause interruptions that will further put our automotive 

customers and their operations at risk of production stoppages. 

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

severe economic harm to the requester or other US interests 

The imposition of a 25% tariff on these automotive parts could cause severe economic 

harm to U.S. interests. Any future business opportunities involving these products could be 

directly impacted by the price increase caused by the additional tariff. If BorgWarner directly 

absorbs the cost of the increase, our profitability will be damaged, which could hurt our ability to 

invest in our technologies, facilities, and workforce training and development. The added costs 

could inhibit our U.S. facilities’ ability to meet the financial returns expected and limit our 

ability to grow in the United States. 

For certain locations, the added costs resulting from the tariffs could lead to exploration 

of moving U.S. manufacturing locations to a lower cost economy. At the very least, the added 

tariff could limit investment in the United States and efforts to try to win new projects with our 

customers. Any project that is won by the company could be directed to other locations outside 
PUBLIC DOCUMENT Page 4 

of the U.S. as a result. This result is directly contradictory to this Administration’s stated 

objective of protecting American jobs. 

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% ad valorem duty on BorgWarner’s push pin, C Pole and pole 

piece described above from China will not impact the Chinese intellectual property violations 

these seek to eliminate. Section 301 tariffs are aimed at specifically targeted products that have 

benefitted from the China’s acts, policies, and practices detailed in the USTR’s Section 301 

Report. The products at issue here has not been beneficially impacted from China’s 

discriminatory licensing requirements, foreign ownership restrictions, state-funded acquisitions, 

or state-backed hacking operations. Made in China 2025 aims to promote their indigenous 

research and development capabilities. The push pin, C Pole and pole piece are not new 

technologies nor does they contribute to China’s priority sectors as a next-generation technology. 

The products at issue are not related to any other Chinese industrial programs, including 

"Made in China 2025". No intellectual property rights have been transferred to Chinese 

producers. 

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 
PUBLIC DOCUMENT Page 5 

knowledge. 

Respectfully submitted, 

___________________ 

Michael Hastrich 

Accounting Manager 

BorgWarner 

Warren Road, Ithaca 

NY14850 

mhastrich@borgwarner.com