华盛顿DC—今天，美国贸易代表罗伯特·莱特海泽就基于《1974年贸易法》第301条款采取的进一步行动发表了如下声明：
“6月18日，总统指示我确定价值2000亿美元的中国商品，对其以10％的税率征收额外关税，以回应中国决定通过向美国商品征收报复性关税而对美国工人、农民和企业造成进一步伤害。我于7月10日启动了这一程序。
“本周，总统指示我考虑将拟议的额外关税水平从10％提高到25％。25％的关税将适用于先前于7月10日宣布的拟议产品清单。
“特朗普政府继续敦促中国停止其不公平的做法，开放其市场，并参与真正的市场竞争。我们已经十分清楚地表明中国应该作出的具体改变。令人遗憾的是，中国非但没有改变其有害行为，反而对美国工人、农民、牧场主和企业施以非法报复。
“提高额外关税的可能税率，旨在为政府提供额外的选择，以鼓励中国改变其有害政策和行为，同时采取政策，为我们的所有公民带来更公平的市场与繁荣。
“美国已经与世界各地志同道合的伙伴们联手，共同解决诸如强制技术转让和知识产权盗窃等不公平贸易做法，我们仍随时准备与中国进行谈判，以解决在我们的301条款报告中详述的这些问题和其他问题。
有关各方可在其对拟议行动的评论中就这一额外关税水平可能增长的问题发言。公告和意见征询期的拟议清单和程序见7月10日发布的《联邦公报》公告，并于7月17日在《联邦公报》上公布。点击这里查看7月17日的公告，包括将征收额外关税的拟议产品清单。鉴于额外关税税率可能提高至25％，书面意见征询期的结束时间从8月30日延长至9月5日，出席公众听证会的申请截止日期延长至8月13日。这些对意见征询期的修改见即将发布的《联邦公报》公告。
Statement By U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Section 301 Action
Washington, DC – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer today released the following statement regarding further action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974:
“On June 18, the President directed me to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percent, in response to China’s decision to cause further harm to U.S. workers, farmers, and businesses by imposing retaliatory duties on U.S. goods. I initiated this process on July 10.
“This week, the President has directed that I consider increasing the proposed level of the additional duty from 10 percent to 25 percent. The 25 percent duty would be applied to the proposed list of products previously announced on July 10.
“The Trump Administration continues to urge China to stop its unfair practices, open its market, and engage in true market competition. We have been very clear about the specific changes China should undertake. Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behavior, China has illegally retaliated against U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses.
“The increase in the possible rate of the additional duty is intended to provide the Administration with additional options to encourage China to change its harmful policies and behavior and adopt policies that will lead to fairer markets and prosperity for all of our citizens.
“The United States has joined forces with like-minded partners around the world to address unfair trade practices such as forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft, and we remain ready to engage with China in negotiations that could resolve these and other problems detailed in our Section 301 report.”
Interested parties may address this possible increase in the level of the additional duty in their comments on the proposed action. The proposed list and process for the public notice and comment period is set out in the Federal Register notice issued on July 10 and published in the Federal Register on July 17. To view the July 17 notice, including the list of proposed products to be subject to additional duties, click here. In light of the possible increase of the additional duty rate to 25 percent, the close of the written comment period is extended from August 30 to September 5, and the due date for requests to appear at the public hearing is extended to August 13. These modifications to the comment period will be set out in a notice to be published shortly in the Federal Register.
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