PUBLIC VERSION

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 Version of BCI

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

Electrical Submersible Pump ("ESP") Stages: Diameter: 3.50 Inches; Length: 2.91 Inches; Weight: 3.0

Pounds.

3. 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/

8413919080

4. Requestor Information

Requestor Name (Last, First): Togni, Patrick

Organization Name: Apergy ESP Systems, LLC

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

Requestor Representative: King & Spalding, LLP

5. Requestor's relationship to the product: Importer

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

YES

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 Version of BCI

VERSION 1 CONTINUED BELOW 1
PUBLIC VERSION

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

NO

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

NO

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. 11

2017 Value: See attached. 2017 Quantity: See attached

2016 Value: See attached. 2016 Quantity: See attached

2015 Value: See attached. 2015 Quantity: See attached

11. Please provide information in support your request, talcing account ofthe instructions

provided in Section B of the Federal Register notice (note: text entered below can extend

beyond the apparent size of this box).

See attached.

VERSION 1 END 2
PUBLIC VERSION

King 8c Spalding 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20006-4706

Phone: 202/626-2390

Fax: 202/626-3737

wwvv.kslaw.com

October 8, 2018

VIA REGULATIONS.GOV

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

United States Trade Representative

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

600 17th Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20508

Docket No. USTR-2018-00025

PUBLIC VERSION

Re: Exclusion Request By Apergy Systems, LLC Regarding Electrical

Submersible Pump (ESP) Pump Stages / Diameter: 3.50 Inches; Length: 2.91

Inches; Weight: 3.0 Pounds

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer:

On behalf of Apergy ESP Systems, LLC (“Apergy ESP'’), a U.S. manufacturer of highly

engineered products and technologies used to drill for and produce oil and gas efficiently, we

hereby request that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) exclude

imports of pump stages used in electrical submersible pumps (“ESP'1) from the tariffs that USTR

has imposed on these imports under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. We are filing this 1

1 Apergy ESP requests business confidential treatment of certain information in this document.

Disclosure of the information marked “Business Confidential” in this request would endanger trade 

secrets or profitability and the information would not customarily be released to the public.

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PUBLIC VERSION

exclusion request in accordance with the guidelines announced in the Federal Register notice

that USTR published on July 11, 2018.2

Imposing tariffs of 25 percent on Apergy ESP’s imports of ESP pump stages from China

will cause severe economic harm to Apergy ESP’s U.S. manufacturing operations and to Apergy

ESP’s customers—100 percent of which are U.S.-based oil and gas companies. Specifically, the

tariffs will adversely affect Apergy ESP because China is the only source of these products.

We discuss these issues detail below.

I. APERGY ESP’S U.S. PRODUCTION OPERATIONS

Apergy ESP Systems, LLC is a former subsidiary of the Dover Corporation and is based

in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. As of May 2, 2018, Apergy ESP is now a subsidiary of Apergy

Corporation headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. Apergy Corporation provides highly

engineered products and technologies used to drill for and produce oil and gas efficiently and

safely around the world. More than four out of five Apergy employees are located in the

United States (2,588 U.S.-based employees out of 3,141 global employees).

Apergy ESP imports ESP components and subcomponents—including ESP pump

stages—from China to produce complex ESP systems in the United States. These systems are an

essential form of artificial lift used by the U.S. oil and gas industry to produce most oil wells,

including the prolific shale wells in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico and the 

Bakken formation in North Dakota. Apergy’s ESP systems optimize field production and

mitigate operations risks for the most challenging well scenarios, including high- volume wells

“)

" Procedures to Consider Requestsfor Exclusion ofParticular Productsfrom the Determination

ofAction Pursuant to Section 301: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer,

Intellectual Property\ and Innovation, 83 Fed. Reg. 32181 (July 11, 2018).

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

October 8, 2018

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producing up to 20,000 barrels per day, horizontal and highly deviated wells, and deep, hightemperature wells. Apergy ESP designs and assembles its innovative ESP systems at its 93,000

square-foot headquarters and technology center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, which boasts stateof-the-art laboratory, manufacturing, and testing facilities. Apergy ESP employs 216 engineers,

sales, finance, and operations personnel in Oklahoma and at its other facilities in Dickinson,

North Dakota, and Odessa, Texas. Apergy ESP’s U.S. employees work to optimize well

production throughout the nation, further supporting thousands of additional American jobs in

the oil and gas sector.

II. ESP PUMP STAGES

ESP pump stages consist of an impeller and mating diffuser. The impeller rotates inside

the pump and directs fluid into the stationary diffuser. The stationary diffuser then directs the

fluid to the next rotating impeller. The pumps that use these pump stages are called multi-stage

centrifugal pumps because they can have an excess of 100 pump stages inside a single pump.

Pump stages are manufactured by casting an ASTM Type 1 Ni-Resist alloy and then machining

the part with CNC machining. ESP pump stages (impellers and diffusers) are made of Type 1

Ni-Resist castings. Pump stages are the most important component in the pump and their

function is to add pressure and flow to lift the fluid out of deep oil and gas wells.

Apergy ESP will be importing ESP pump stages from China under the eight-digit

Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“HTS”) subheading 8413.91.9080; “Pumps for liquids, whether or

not fitted with a measuring device; liquid elevators; part thereof: Parts: Of pumps:

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

October 8, 2018

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Other. ..Other.” This subheading is currently included on the list of products subject to the 

additional tariffs under Section 301. "

III. INFORMATION REQUIRED BY USTR FOR THIS EXCLUSION REQUEST

As we noted previously, ESP pump stages constitutes a foundational element within the

more complex ESP systems designed and assembled in the U.S. at Apergy ESP’s facilities in

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Dickinson, North Dakota; and Odessa, Texas and Apergy

Corporation’s facility in The Woodlands, Texas. Because the ESP pump stages at issue are

imported to support downstream manufacturing jobs in the United States, the imposition of

tariffs on these products would cause disproportionate harm to domestic design and

manufacturing operations and threaten the continued employment of thousands of American

workers. The ESP pump stages at issue should not fall within the scope of this action because

they have been in production for more than thirty years to support the design and manufacture of

complex ESP systems in the United States. ESP pump stages have been manufactured in China

for decades pursuant to contractual arrangements in order to ensure that the products are 

manufactured according to Apergy ESP’s specifications to support its U.S. operations.

If USTR denies this product-specific exclusion request and continues to impose tariffs of

25 percent on these imports under Section 301, it will cause disproportionate harm to Apergy’s

Oklahoma-based business, Apergy’s Texas-based business, and to downstream U.S. customers in

the oil and gas industry that depend on ESP systems to safely and effective produce U.S. shale

oil and gas wells. These additional costs will be passed on to U.S. consumers through increased 3

3

Notice ofAction and Requestfor Public Comment Concerning Proposed Determination if

Action Pursuant to Section 301: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer,

Intellectual Property, and Innovation, 83 Fed. Reg. 28710, 28714 (June 20, 2018).

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

October 8, 2018

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prices for ESP systems in the U.S. market. ESP systems are used to produce 90 percent of U.S. 

shale oil and gas wells, so imposition of tariffs on these inputs will negatively impact the

continued viability U.S. oil and gas industry by leading to increased prices for these essential

systems.

To be clear, 100 percent of Apergy ESP’s customer base is located in the United

States. Thus, the severe economic harm that will be caused by higher tariffs on ESP pump

stages imported from China will be felt not only by Apergy ESP, but by its hard-working

customer base throughout the United States.

The increased costs would also put Apergy and other U.S. suppliers at a competitive

disadvantage compared to Russian competitors that manufacture ESP pump stages for captive

consumption. Russian competitors of Apergy for its oil field services will not need to pay the 

higher duties on imports of pump stages used in ESP systems into the United States, allowing

them to underbid Apergy and all other U.S. competitors. Apergy ESP is not the only U.S.

company that depends heavily on Chinese sources for ESP inputs. Thus, imposing the additional

tariffs on ESP pump stages that are classified under HTS subheading 8413.91.9080 would

amount to the U.S. government placing a thumb on the scale for the benefit of foreign

competitors.

The full range of manufacturing operations needed by Apergy ESP and other U.S.

suppliers does not exist in the United States and would take several years to develop. Apergy

ESP estimates that fully developing an alternative source of supply for ESP pump stages in the

United States or in other third countries would take a minimum of 5 years.

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

October 8, 2018

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The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer PUBLIC VERSION

October 8, 2018

Page 6

Apergy ESP therefore respectfully requests that USTR exclude the parts and components

that Apergy ESP will import from China from the scope of the Section 301 tariffs. Consistent

with the guidelines set forth in USTR’s July 11, 2018 notice,4 Apergy ESP provides the

following information relating to this exclusion request:

A. Description Of The Product Covered By This Exclusion Request, The

Applicable 10 Digit Subheading Of The HTSUS, And The Administrability

Of The Exclusion Request

The product covered by this exclusion request is ESP pump stages with the following

dimensions:5 Diameter: 3.50 Inches; Length: 2.91 Inches; Weight: 3.0 Pounds.

Representative images of ESP pump stages are shown below:

Impeller and Diffuser

4 83 Fed. Reg. 32181 (July 11, 2018).

5 Apergy ESP is filing a total of 11 ESP pump stages-related product-specific exclusion requests

under HTSUS subheading 8413.91.9080 that address all of the different product offerings by size, length, 

and weight. Except for the physical description, each of the requests and Apergy’s arguments are 

identical in all other respects.

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The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer PUBLIC VERSION

October 8, 2018

Page 7

Additional Images of Pump Stages

Cross-Section of Pump Showing Pump Stages

Imports of this product are covered by the ten-digit HTS subheading 8413.91.9080.

Apergy ESP believes that, because of the specificity of this product description, U.S. Customs

and Border Protection (“CBP”) will be able to administer this exclusion readily.

B. Annual Quantity and Value of the Chinese-Origin Product That the

Requestor Purchased in the Last Three Years

In Attachment A, and at USTR’s request, Apergy ESP provides the annual quantity and

value of the imports of the product covered by this exclusion request.

C. Rationale For Requested Exclusion

1 Apergy ESP will not be able to obtain this product from nonChinese sources over the next five years

Apergy ESP has spent several years working with its Chinese suppliers to ensure that

their products will satisfy Apergy ESP’s exacting technical and quality specifications and that

they will work well all of the other components used in the ESP systems that Apergy ESP sells to

customers in the United States. Because these parts and components—including ESP pump

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PUBLIC VERSION

stages—are custom-designed products, they cannot be purchased from other suppliers on an offthe shelf basis.

Further, if Apergy ESP could replace its current Chinese suppliers with new U.S.- or

third country suppliers, Apergy ESP would need to undertake a lengthy qualification process for

these new suppliers. Based on its past experience, Apergy ESP believes that the process of

qualifying a new supplier to produce these products would take five years to fully replace the

ESP pump stages that are currently sourced from China. Moreover, even if Apergy ESP

undertook this qualification process, it is not clear that Apergy ESP would find new suppliers

who could provide it with the same quality or technical specifications as its existing Chinese

suppliers.6 In other words, it is simply not possible for Apergy ESP to quickly replace its 

Chinese suppliers with new U.S. or third country producers, and it would certainly not be able to

do so within time frames that could avoid the significant economic harm and consequent job

losses that will be caused by the imposition of the additional 25 percent tariff on ESP pump

stages imported from China.

2. Imposition of the Section 301 duties on Apergy ESP’s imports

from China will cause severe economic harm to Apergy ESP

and its U.S. customers

As noted above, all of Apergy ESP’s ESP-related sales are to U.S. customers. Thus,

denial of this product-specific exclusion request will cause severe economic harm to Apergy ESP

and cascade through the entire U.S. oil and gas industry.

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

October 8, 2018

Page 8

In this regard, Apergy ESP notes that it has had longstanding relationships with its Chinese

suppliers. Over a long period of time, these suppliers have demonstrated that they are able to provide

Apergy ESP with the custom-designed, technologically sophisticated parts and components needed in

Apergy ESP’s pump stages.

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Apergy ESP estimates that imposition of these tariffs on its imports from China will

result in additional costs of approximately $[ ] million, based on annualized projections of

ESP pump stages import volumes.7 This significant additional expense would harm Apergy’s

business, inhibiting the company’s growth and profitability and threatening the size of the

workforce at Apergy’s facilities in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Dickinson, North Dakota; and

Odessa, Texas, as well as Apergy Corporation’s facilities in The Woodland, Texas, where the

imported inputs are assembled into complete ESP systems. The increases would also result in

loss of market share to Apergy ESP’s primary competitors, which are Russian-based and other

foreign companies that will not be harmed by the severe impact of the additional tariffs.

As detailed above, Apergy sells its assembled ESP systems to U.S.-based vendor partners

in the oil and gas industry, who use the systems to safely and efficiently produce U.S. shale

wells. The rise in production costs resulting from a 25 percent tariff on ESP pump stages will

also threaten the U.S. businesses in the oil and gas sector who depend on a reliable supply of

Apergy’s finished ESP systems as the safest, fastest and most cost-effective way to meet their

production goals. Such a substantial increase in the cost of ESP systems would jeopardize these

downstream businesses and their employees, and could ultimately lead to downsizing and

layoffs, thus trading U.S. jobs for Russian or other foreign jobs.

3. Technology transfer requirements and the “Made in China

2025” Plan are not applicable

Finally, we note that Apergy ESP’s imports of ESP pump stages from China are not

subject to forced technology transfer. They are also not covered by China’s “Made in China

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

October 8, 2018

Page 9

See Attachment A.

7

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PUBLIC VERSION

2025” program. As a result, the concerns that caused USTR to impose duties on imports from

China are not implicated by the products being imported from China by Apergy ESP.

To the contrary, the U.S. based ESP industry has sourced the relevant ESP components

and subcomponents from China since the 1980s. The more advanced technology and know-how

to design more complex assembled ESP systems resides in the United States, but the lower-cost

ESP components including ESP pump stages are only available to Apergy ESP from China. The

imported ESP pump stages are uniquely configured by Apergy ESP into more complex systems

by Apergy ESP’s applications and field engineers in the United States.

The now decades-long relationships with Chinese suppliers resulted from the

development ofjoint manufacturing arrangements between several U.S. firms and Chinese

suppliers. The production of ESP pump stages in China was therefore not the result of such acts,

policies and practices at issue in the Section 301 Determination.

IV. CONCLUSION

In sum, imposition of tariffs of an additional 25 percent on Apergy ESP’s imports of ESP

pump stages from China will not have the desired effect of increasing employment in the United

States or improving the profitability of Apergy ESP‘s U.S. manufacturing operations. On the

contrary, imposition of the tariffs on these imports will cause severe economic harm to the 

employees of Apergy ESP and its entire U.S. customer base. This severe economic harm would

not serve any of the policy goals of the Section 301 process. The only entities that would benefit

are Apergy ESP’s Asian and Russian competitors. This is not the result that the Section 301

process was designed to achieve.

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

October 8, 2018

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In light of these considerations, Apergy ESP respectfully requests that USTR exclude the 

specific ESP pump stages that are identified in this request from the scope of its announced

duties under Section 301. Granting this request will allow Apergy ESP to maintain its current

work force levels and cost levels which also will benefit all of its oil and gas customers in the

United States. Given the foregoing, Apergy ESP believes that excluding these imports from the

scope of the Section 301 tariffs is in the best interests of the United States and will not

undermine the goals that the Administration hopes to achieve with these tariffs.

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer

October 8, 2018

Page 11

Accordingly, USTR should grant this product-specific exclusion request regarding ESP

pump stages classified under 8413.91.9080 with the following specifications : Diameter: 3.50

Inches; Length: 2.91 Inches; Weight: 3.0 Pounds. We appreciate your consideration of this

request. If you have any questions or require and further information, please do not hesitate to

call us.

Respectfully submitted,

Jeffrey M. Telep

Patrick J. Togni

Counsel for Apergy ESP Systems, LLC

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ATTACHMENT A
PUBLIC VERSION

Electrical Submersible Pump Stages Exclusion Request of

Apergy ESP Systems, LLC (HTSUS Subheading 8413.91.9080)1

Attachment A

Year Annual Import Quantity Annual Import Value

2015 t i $t i

2016 t i $t i

2017 t i $t i

2018 (YTD) t i $t i

1 This import data covers all of the ESP pump stages that are classified under HTSUS subheading

8413.91.9080 that are subject to Apergy ESP’s product-specific exclusion requests.

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