IN
THE
WIND
P60
"People look at that and think,
'Oh, that's not a big deal,'" said
MIC's SVP for Government
Relations Scott Schloegel. "It's
a huge deal! The whole powers-
ports industry will suffer."
Read more on the EU Tariff
issue.
What Is Being Done?
All three tariff issues propose
a significant challenge to the mo-
torcycle industry, with the China
and EU tariffs currently at the
forefront. The situations continue
to escalate and no one seems
to know when/how it will end.
But the motorcycle industry has
members who have been active
in D.C. finding ways to help pro-
tect our community. With regard
to the EU tariff topic, MIC and
AMA members, along with in-
dustry leaders and manufacturer
representatives, will testify before
the U.S. Trade Commission on
Wednesday, May 15 and make
a case as to why motorcycles,
parts and accessories should be
kept off the list.
"Hopefully we can get them
exempted out at the hearing on
Wednesday after we make our
case there," Schloegel ex-
plained. "If for some reason we
are not successful in that, we will
fight for an exclusion process.
So that would be the next step if
we're not successful on Wednes-
day with making our case."
The MIC has already been
successful in the exception
process on the China tariff front,
successfully getting helmets
removed from the original list
that was put in place last year. It
is due to effective lobbying and
letter writing that we are able to
make gains in these fights, which
the MIC and AMA continue to
head.
What Can We Do?
In the case of legislative
issues, we are pretty good at
sounding off to our elected offi-
cials. But in the case of unilateral
executive action, and proposals
from the U.S. Trade Representa-
tive, who do we appeal to?
1. Write Letters to Con-
gress
Writing letters to your repre-
sentatives can still be effective in
this situation.
"If you reach out to your
members of Congress, they can
weigh in with the White House
and with USTR Ambassador
Robert Lighthizer to let them
know we don't want these tariffs
to be put in place," explained
Schloegel.
2. Submit Comments Di-
rectly to the USTR
A more direct course of ac-
tion includes submitting com-
ments directly to the USTR, as
the matter is currently open for
a comment period. The USTR
specifically asks "whether
increased duties on particular
products might have an adverse
effect upon U.S. stakeholders,
including small businesses and
consumers." That extends to
just about all of us who intend to
purchase any European-made
parts and accessories, and most
of all dealers, shops, mechanics,
vendors, importers, distributors,
etc.
3. Submit Comments Di-
rectly to MIC
The MIC Government Rela-
tions Office is calling upon every-
one in the powersports industry
to send letters opposing these
"unnecessary added costs that
could cripple our industry."
"Tariffs are taxes," stated
Schloegel. "Tariffs are taxes that
are put on by our government.
They are not paid by the EU or by
China. Those taxes are paid by
American companies and con-
sumers when the goods come in
to the United States.
"We agree that the playing
field for a lot of industries is not
level. That's unfortunate and
does need to be addressed.
We support the administration's
efforts to try to address that.
What we don't agree with is put-
ting taxes on motorcycles, parts
and supplies that are ultimately
passed along to the consumers.
It really is the companies and
consumers here in the United
States who get stuck with the
bill."
Click here for instructions on
how to submit comments and
letters to each organization, and
also find a letter template from
KTM if you wish to submit a com-
ment to the USTR. The comment
period on the EU Tariffs is open
until May 28.
Jean Turner
