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

Public Version
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?

Public Version
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).

Public Version
 

 PUBLIC VERSION

 

 October 9, 2018 

The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer 

United State Trade Representative

Office of the United States Trade Representative

600 17th Street NW 

Washington, DC 20508 

 

Re: Addendum to Request for Exclusion of Particular Products from the 

 Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301

This letter is submitted by HL-A Co., Inc. (“HL-A” or “the Company”) pursuant to the 

Procedures to Consider Requests for Exclusion of Particular Products from the Determination of 

Action Pursuant to Section 301 as set forth in docket number USTR-2018-0025-0001. The 

information contained herein is an addendum to the individual product exclusion form, and is 

intended to address questions set forth in the procedures described above. For reference, this 

addendum pertains to certain bracket sub-assemblies used in door-mounted rearview mirrors for 

vehicles. The products imported from China are classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 

the United States (“HTSUS”) subheading 8501.10.4060 as “Electric motors and generators 

(excluding generating sets): Motors of an output not exceeding 37.5 W: Of under 18.65 W: Other.” 

The following discussion addresses specific information that is requested in the Federal Register 

Notice published on July 11, 2018 (83 Fed. Reg. 32181) concerning the three questions provided 

and responded to below. 

Consistent with the United States Trade Representative’s (“USTR”) procedures, we 

request confidential treatment for information designated as business confidential in this 

submission. Such information consists of information that would not customarily be released to 

Public Version
the public, including business or trade secrets regarding production costs and processes, product 

characteristics, and other sale-related business secrets, and the names of individuals or 

organizations that provided price, cost, and other market information. Business confidential 

information is indicated in the text below via single brackets ("[ ]"). Release of this information, 

including the identity of the submitter, would cause irreparable harm to the submitter. A public 

version of this Request is also being filed with all confidential information redacted. 

The Products 

 By way of background on the Company, HL-A is an automotive supplier with plants in 

Bremen, Georgia, and Selma, Alabama. The Company employs [1,005] American workers in 

those plants. In fact, the plant in Bremen, Georgia is the largest employer in Haralson County, in 

which Bremen lies. 

The products that are the subject of this Request are bracket sub-assemblies that are parts 

of exterior mirrors for vehicles. These parts function as the internal frame of a vehicle’s doormounted rearview mirror assembly. The subject parts consist of a plastic, molded bracket, an 

autoturn module, actuator, and a cord. The actuator consists of two motors and gears and functions 

to move (actuate) the door mirror glass. The mirror glass is a separate component that attaches to 

the actuator and is not imported with the bracket sub-assemblies. The autoturn module functions 

to automatically fold the mirror inward to assist in tight parking situations. 

Once the subject bracket sub-assemblies are imported into the United States, a door mirror 

base is built around the bracket sub-assembly. The door mirror base is a housing contraption that

acts as the mount for attaching the final product to the vehicle. After these parts are assembled 

into an exterior rearview mirror, the finished mirrors are shipped to the Company’s customers 

Public Version
within the United States for assembly onto vehicles. The vehicles onto which the finished products 

are installed are all exported to the Korean, Central American, and South American markets. 

The specific HL-A part numbers that are the subject of this request are: [TVA-E2300-3400; 

TVA-E2300-3200; TVA-E2300-3900; TVA-E2300-3A00; TVA-E2300-3800; TVA-EB300-

3000]. Representative pictures of these bracket sub-assembly parts and the finished mirrors into 

which these parts are assembled are included below. 

[ ] 

[Bracket Sub-Assemblies] 

[ ] 

[Rear View Mirror] 

Public Version
I. Whether the particular product is available only from China? 

The subject bracket sub-assemblies can only feasibly be supplied from China. China is the 

only country that already has the manufacturing plants, raw materials, and labor resources to 

sufficiently supply the subject products. The parts are designed in a unique manner that only exists 

in China. Transferring production to another country would cost the Company time and resources 

it does not have. 

The Company has spent many years cultivating its global sourcing network to meet demand 

and expected growth. Currently, the subject products can only be produced by Chinese 

manufacturers at the capacity and pricing that the Company needs. Particularly, the subject parts 

are unique in nature as it is designed for a specific automotive application – exterior, rear view

mirrors for the export market. The unique tooling required to produce these parts are only available 

in China. 

Currently, [ninety-seven (97)] percent of the Company’s bracket sub-assemblies are 

manufactured in the United States. Only a small fraction of the bracket sub-assemblies are 

imported. The Company is forced to import a certain limited number of bracket sub-assemblies 

because there is limited domestic production capacity. HL-A imports only the bracket subassemblies that are manufactured specifically for use in vehicles that are exported from the United 

States. This also allows the Company to focus its domestic manufacturing ability on parts needed 

for cars that Americans drive.

Public Version
The Company does not know any manufacturer outside China that is currently able to 

produce these parts at the capacity and quality needed. While possible, it would likely take a 

significant amount of time (e.g., several years) for any party to attempt to develop a factory outside 

China that would be able to suitably supply to the Company’s needs for the subject parts. Even 

then, the new manufacturer would have to go through the product testing process that HL-A 

demands of its suppliers. To that end, any party seeking to move the production of the subject 

parts outside China would have to significantly invest in a plant’s unique tooling and equipment 

machinery. Such an endeavor would likely be cost prohibitive. 

Similarly, the domestic industry cannot supply the Company with the subject parts at a 

sufficient level because it does not have the capacity to do so. We believe that it would be cost 

prohibitive for a domestic manufacturer to increase capacity to supply the Company’s needs, if it 

is even possible. Even assuming a domestic manufacturer could potentially supply the Company’s 

needs, it would likely take several years for the domestic supplier to adequately be able to supply 

HL-A. 

For these reasons, there is currently no way for the Company to source the subject parts

from outside China, whether it be from a third country or the United States, at the capacity needed. 

Therefore, the imposition of an additional 25 percent tariff on these products will be debilitating 

to the Company. As such, we urge USTR to grant HL-A the Section 301 exclusion requested 

herein. 

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

severe economic harm to the requestor or other U.S. interests? 

Not only would the additional 25 percent tariff imposed on the Company for the subject 

parts significantly disrupt HL-A’s business, but it would have a devastating impact on the 

Company’s employees and customers. First, HL-A does not have the ability to withstand the 

Public Version
additional tariffs for the subject products. As it is, the Company’s profits on these products are 

small. The Company projects that the imposition of the additional tariffs would cost the Company 

an additional [$48,000] in the next twelve months. The Company would not be able to absorb the 

full amount of the additional tariffs. As such, it would have to pass on some or all of the additional 

tariffs to HL-A’s customers. 

As a leader in the auto parts industry, the Company sells its finished rear view mirrors to 

this country’s leading auto manufacturers. Without the steady supply of the subject parts from 

China, these auto manufacturers would be forced to obtain the parts from other companies at a 

higher price and lower quality. This would result in higher costs for these companies and potential 

job losses. 

HL-A employs Americans in Georgia and Alabama that manufacture the subject bracket 

sub-assemblies into finished rear view mirrors. The imposition of these additional tariffs would 

force the Company to import fewer and fewer of the subject parts. As a result, employees in these 

plants in Georgia and Alabama would be affected because the Company would not be able to 

sustain their employment. This would have a detrimental effect on those employees who depend 

on the steady pay-check they receive from the Company. 

The extraordinary penalties the Company faces from these additional tariffs, and the 

inability to obtain these products elsewhere will impact the Company, the Company’s customers, 

and the Company’s employees. As such, we urge USTR to grant HL-A an exclusion from the 

Section 301 additional tariffs requested herein.

Public Version
III. Whether the particular product is strategically important or related to “Made in 

China 2025” or other Chinese industrial programs? 

HL-A’s bracket sub-assemblies are not included as part of China’s “Made in China 2025” 

initiative. Thus, imposing additional tariffs on these parts from China would be ineffective in 

achieving the goals of the Section 301 investigation as the parts are not advanced technology. 

The subject products have been manufactured by HL-A’ssuppliers in China for many years

and the technology used to manufacture these parts has not changed in quite some time. The main 

focus of the “Made in China 2025” initiative, with respect to industrial applications, relates to 

innovative, breakthrough technologies in the areas of green manufacturing or high-end 

development, not the mature technology at issue in this request. 

Further, HL-A is not subject to any foreign ownership or equity restrictions. There is no 

issue with Chinese policies forcing the Company to license technologies to Chinese entities. The 

Company licenses no technology to any entity in China. The Company also knows of no attempt 

by any Chinese entities to unfairly facilitate the systematic investment in, and acquisition of, HLA in order to obtain any sort of cutting-edge technological advantages. Finally, the Company has 

not witnessed any theft of its intellectual property by China.

For these reasons, the subject imports are not strategically important or related to China’s 

“Made in China 2025” initiative or other Chinese industrial programs. As such, we urge USTR to 

grant HL-A the exclusion requested herein.

Public Version