ITC to update assessment of U.S. import constraints

The U.S. International Trade Commission has started to update its report on the effects of significant U.S. import restraints on American businesses’ global supply chains.    The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has started to update its report on the effects of significant U.S. import restraints, such as tariffs and customs procedures on global supply chains.
   The report, The Economic Effects of Significant U.S. Import Restraints: Ninth Update; Special Topic: Effects of Tariffs and of Customs and Border Procedures on Global Supply Chains, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a Sept. 13 letter.
   “The rising importance of global supply chains means that intermediate inputs are increasingly traded across borders,” the USTR said in its letter. “Tariffs and inefficient customs and border procedures can raise the price of these inputs in each country they enter along the global supply chain, while their removal can substantially improve global welfare.”
   The USTR also asked that the ITC report include an assessment of how significant U.S. import restraints affect households with different incomes.
   According to the ITC, the second part of the report will describe the “cumulative effects” of tariffs and customs procedures on global supply chains.
   The ITC will hold a public hearing related to this report at its Washington, D.C. headquarters on Feb. 9, 2017. More information will be made available on the factfinding agency’s website.