October 8, 2018 

VIA ELECTRONIC FILING PUBLIC VERSION 

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

United States Trade Representative 

Office of the United States Trade Representative 

600 17th St. NW 

Washington, DC 20006 

Re: Request for Exclusion from Section 301 Tariffs on Helium Leak Detection 

System 

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer: 

 

On behalf of Valeo North America, Inc. (“Valeo”), we hereby submit our exclusion request for a 

Helium Leak Detection System from the Section 301 tariffs enacted against products from the 

People’s Republic of China (“China”). These products are not economically and commercially 

available outside of China; these products are not high-tech products that are benefiting from the 

“made in China 2025” program; and imposition of additional duties on these products would 

significantly undermine Valeo’s competitive advantage in both the U.S. and global market. 

For these reasons, Valeo respectfully requests that the Helium Leak Detection System, imported 

from China, classified under HTS 9027.30.4080, be excluded from the final section 301 tariff 

list. This Helium Leak Detection System is a quality assurance testing device use in the 

manufacture of Evaporators. After manufacture, the evaporators are attached to the Helium Leak 

Detection System to measure whether gas leaks from the finished good. Detection is by means 

of a mass spectrometer incorporated into the system. These goods could be described as: 

 Helium Leak Detection Quality Assurance System, incorporating an optical radiation 

spectrometer for detecting helium leakage from manufactured products during quality 

control testing 

There were [ ] imports in 2017, [ ] imports in 2016, and [ ] imports in 2015. Valeo intends to 

import [ ] in 2018. The machines are valued at ] each. 

Valeo hereby requests business confidential treatment for certain information clearly identified 

in brackets in the comments below, and in Attachment 1. Valeo certifies that the data include, 

inter alia, business trade secrets, commercial or financial information and certain other 

information, the disclosure of which would endanger trade secrets or profitability, and that the 

information would not customarily be released to the public. Nevertheless, Valeo has provided a 

public version of this submission which can be placed in the public file for inspection. 
PUBLIC VERSION 

I. Background 

Valeo North America, Inc. is part of the Valeo Group. The Valeo Group is one of the world's 

leading automotive suppliers, providing a wide range of products to auto manufacturers and 

after-markets, including clutches, torque converters, engine cooling modules, climate control 

systems, lighting, wipers, and sensors, for most major car makers across the globe. The 

company’s innovative solutions are developed by four business groups - Powertrain Systems, 

Thermal Systems, Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems and Visibility Systems. The Valeo 

Group has 184 plants, 55 research and development centers, and 15 distribution platforms, and 

employs 111,600 people in 33 countries worldwide. 

Valeo has been serving the United States automotive market for 25 years. In North America, 

Valeo’s regional headquarters are located in Troy, Michigan. It has various offices, warehouses, 

production sites and research and development centers across the United States in California, 

Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, and 

Virginia, and Valeo employs more than 14,000 people in North America. 

In 2017, Valeo generated sales of 18.6 billion euros and invested over 7% of its original 

equipment sales in research and development. Valeo’s sales are diversified across its operating 

segments, with Visibility Systems accounting for about 31% of the sales, followed by Thermal 

Systems (27% of revenue), Powertrain Systems (23% of revenue), and Comfort and Driving 

Assistance Systems (19% of the group's sales). In 2017, about half of its revenues were 

generated in Europe, followed by North America (20% of revenues), China (15%), the rest of 

Asia (16%), and South America (2%). 

II. Exclusion is Requested for the Increase in Demand and Lack of Commercial 

Availability Outside of China 

Valeo’ decision to import the Helium Leak Detection System from China is driven by our 

increased customer demand in the U.S. and globally. The imported products are machines which 

will allow Valeo to manufacture radiators and condensers in the United States. 

Our Helium Leak Detection System supplier is [ ]. This supplier has no 

government or state-owned enterprise (“SOE”) investment that we are aware of. There have not 

been any issues associated with the forced transfer of technology to which the additional 25% 

duties seek to remedy. In addition, [ ] has not benefited from the Chinese 

Government’s acts, policies or practices identified by the USTR as being unreasonable or 

discriminatory and that burden or restrict U.S. commerce. To the contrary, the system purchased 

from [ ] increases U.S. commerce by complementing our North American facilities 

and allows us to manufacture new products in the United States. 

[ ] is not state owned, and their products simply are not among those identified as 

part of the “Made in China 2025” program that would benefit from the Chinese Government’s 

acts, policies or practices identified by USTR as being unreasonable or discriminatory and that 

burden or restrict U.S. commerce. 
PUBLIC VERSION 

To the best of our knowledge, we cannot readily source the same or comparable products 

elsewhere in a commercially sufficient and cost-efficient manner. [ ] designed the 

product to Valeo’s specific requirements, and no other supplier has been able to supply to 

required product. The 25% tariff threatens our supply of U.S. manufactured product to our 

customers. 

III. Imposition of Additional 301 Tariffs would Cause Severe Economic Harm to Valeo 

The additional 25% duties on Valeo’ imported Helium Leak Detection System would 

significantly increase our production cost. As we operate in a global market, the increased cost 

would result in our foreign competitors having a significant competitive advantage over Valeo, 

because they will still be able to procure the same machines from China without the 25% 

additional duty cost. This will make Valeo much less competitive in the global market and 

directly impact our ability to compete with foreign competitors. In turn, this will result in lost 

sales and, as a result, U.S. jobs. 

Further, the imported Helium Leak Detection System is used for quality assurance on critical 

inputs manufactured for our customers in the automotive original equipment manufacturer 

(“OEM”) industry. The 25% additional duty would adversely impact our automotive OEM 

customers by disrupting our supply chain and increasing costs. The additional duties would cause 

job losses due to a decrease in production if necessary parts and equipment are not available in a 

cost-effective manner. 

IV. Helium Leak Detection Systems Are Not Related to “Made in China 2025” or Other 

Chinese Industrial Programs 

Imposing additional 25% duties on the products that Valeo imports from China would serve no 

practical purpose to eliminate China’s unreasonable and discriminatory acts, policies, and 

practices identified by USTR in this investigation. Indeed, the Helium Leak Detection System is 

used for quality assurance on manufactured automotive products that require less sophisticated 

production technology. Valeo’s supplier’s facility is not a high-tech producer that was identified 

in USTR’s report. The products produced in these facilities were not identified by the USTR 

report. Our imported products are simply not among those that benefit from the “Made in China 

2025” program, or any other Chinese Government’s acts, policies or practices identified by 

USTR as being unreasonable or discriminatory and that burden or restrict U.S. commerce. 

In addition, force-transfer of technology only exists in joint-ventures between a U.S. and a 

Chinese company. In this case, there is no joint-venture between Valeo and its supplier. The 

goods are purchased at arm’s length. As such, there is no forced transfer if technology between 

Valeo and its supplier. 

V. Conclusion 

Based on the reasons stated above, we respectfully request an exclusion of the Helium Leak 

Detection System identified in the accompanying exclusion forms from the Section 301 tariffs 
PUBLIC VERSION 

because it would significantly increase Valeo’s operating cost and make us less competitive. The 

imported products are essential to completing our product line, and none of which are affected by 

the concerns cited by the USTR as justification for implementing the Section 301 tariffs. Tariffs 

on products that are not economically and commercially available to Valeo from U.S. producers 

will not advance national trade objectives and will be to the detriment of U.S. manufacturing. ****** 

Please direct any questions concerning this submission to the undersigned. 
Organization Name:

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

Requestor Representative:

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.

3.

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

4.

*

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/

7.

5. Requestor's relationship to the product:

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

Please indicate whether any additional attachment contains business confidential information 

(BCI), is a public document, or is a public version of a BCI document.

Requestor Information

Requestor Name (Last, First):

VERSION 2 CONTINUED BELOW 1
8. Is this product, or a comparable product, available from sources in the United States? (If you

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

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:

2016 Value:

2015 Value:

2017 Quantity:

2016 Quantity:

2015 Quantity:

% of your total gross sales in 2017 that the Chinese-origin product accounted for.

% of the total cost of producing the final product(s) the Chinese-origin input 

accounts for.

% of your total gross sales in 2017 that sales of the final product(s) incorporating 

the input accounted for.

VERSION 2 CONTINUED BELOW 2

indicate "NO", you must provide support for your assertion in Box 12).

indicate "NO", you must provide support for your assertion in Box 12).

11. Is the Chinese-origin product of concern sold as a final product or an input used in

a) For imports sold as final products, please provide:

b) For imports of inputs used in the production of final products, please provide:

the production of a final product or products?
12. Please provide information in support your request, taking account of the

VERSION 2 END 3

instructions provided in Section B of the Federal Register notice. If you

responded "NO" to Questions 8 or 9, you must provide support for your

assertion in the box below. (Note: text entered below can extend beyond the

apparent size of this box).