Sponsors (3)
Official title: To suspend normal trade relations with the People's Republic of China and to increase the rates of duty applicable with respect to articles imported from the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by John Moolenaar · Last progress January 23, 2025
The bill gives the government stronger, more flexible tools to restrict trade with covered nations (chiefly China) and to support domestic producers and enforcement, at the cost of higher prices and compliance burdens for U.S. consumers and businesses, greater risk of foreign retaliation, and added administrative and budgetary strain.
U.S. manufacturers and workers in import‑competing industries (especially smaller firms) gain protection from some Chinese imports because the bill enables higher duties, quotas, and selective denial of normal trade relations, which can reduce foreign competition and support domestic production and jobs.
Exporters and farmers have a dedicated compensation mechanism and a predictable funding stream (trust fund sourced from duties) to respond to Chinese retaliation, reducing immediate income shocks when exports are blocked or restricted.
Customs administration and importers receive clearer statutory language and scope (tie to a specific HTS section and clarified references), reducing legal ambiguity and making tariff application and compliance more consistent.
Households and consumers are likely to pay higher prices because duties, possible reappraisals that increase customs values, narrowed de minimis for covered nations, and other China‑specific measures would raise retail and input costs.
U.S. exporters, farmers, and workers face heightened risk of retaliatory tariffs and trade measures from affected countries (notably China), which could reduce export demand, harm agricultural and manufacturing jobs, and lower firm revenues.
Importers and small businesses will face higher compliance costs and administrative burdens — preparing value statements, proving origin, responding to appraisals and annual adjustments — raising operating costs and creating potential shipment delays.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Removes NTR for China, raises China‑only tariffs to higher column‑2 levels (with floors and CPI indexing), changes customs valuation, and creates a duties trust fund to compensate U.S. producers.
Suspends normal trade relations (NTR) for products of the People’s Republic of China and requires the President to raise U.S. tariff rates on Chinese-origin goods to higher ‘‘column 2’’ levels (with minimums and specified 100% rates for targeted items). It also changes how Customs values Chinese imports, narrows the low‑value (de minimis) duty exemption for certain covered nations, creates a Treasury trust fund funded by duties on Chinese imports to compensate U.S. producers and buy critical articles, and provides modest staffing/IT funding for the U.S. International Trade Commission. The bill directs administrative steps (proclamations and HTS revisions), annual inflation indexing and phased-in increases for duties, new appraisal and reporting requirements for importers, and transfers of collected duties into a 10‑year trust fund to support agriculture, critical industries, and defense munitions acquisition. It includes criminal/civil compliance and enforcement roles for CBP and reporting requirements to the USITC and USTR for WTO schedule changes.