Bill Sells, SFIA’s senior vice president of government & public affairs, will testify on behalf of the sports & fitness industry on Tuesday, June 25, 2019.
“SFIA enthusiastically supports President Trump’s efforts to bring China into compliance with international intellectual property laws and shares the President’s commitment to providing high-quality jobs for America’s workers,’ Sells plans to say, according to a provided draft of his speech. “However, we strongly oppose the proposed tariffs because they will disrupt our members’ business models, cause lasting economic harm to American sports companies, and result in higher prices paid by millions of American consumers who rely on our members’ products to keep them safe, healthy, and happily engaged in their sporting endeavors. In short, while we applaud the goals of the United States Government acting to pressure China to more adequately protect intellectual property rights, we believe this proposed use of indiscriminate tariffs are the wrong instrument; and will not result in the outcome we all desire.”
His testimony elaborates on
- The inequity between tariff rates on raw material inputs and tariff rates on finished products containing those inputs.
- The domestic sourcing inadequacies and the complex supply chains required for sporting goods to come to market
- The challenges U.S. sporting goods companies face against foreign competition with tariffs.
Sells concluded, “n, we believe China should be pressured to uphold intellectual property rights, but tariffs on our products may have the unintended and perverse effect of harming U.S. companies, while incentivizing counterfeiters and other criminal enterprises who do not play by the rules.”
A draft of Sells testimony can be found here.
