US lawmakers ask Trump to keep tariffs off PPE, vaccine equipment | Coronavirus pandemic News
Personal protective equipment imported from China could face Trump’s trade war tariffs if exclusions are allowed to expire.
A bipartisan group of 75 United States lawmakers is urging the Trump administration to extend exclusions from import tariffs on medical products imported from China, including face masks, hand sanitising wipes and examination gloves as the country continues to battle record numbers of COVID-19 cases.
In a letter to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the legislators said failure to extend the exclusions beyond December 31 would hurt small businesses already suffering from stay-at-home orders aimed at containing the spread of the new coronavirus.
They said they recognised that the exclusions were granted in part to give US companies more time to diversify their supply chains out of China. But companies needed more time to complete those efforts given continuing travel restrictions, they said.
“Extending exclusions before they expire will help with pandemic
