U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and David Perdue, R-Ga., are urging the Trump administration to remove ship-to-shore cranes used at Georgia’s ports of Savannah and Brunswick from its proposed fourth round of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports.
 
In a letter sent today to U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Isakson and Perdue share their support for the president’s efforts to address unfair and harmful trade practices committed by China and agree that “correcting trade imbalances and creating a level playing field for American businesses and manufacturers will ensure a thriving economy for the future.”
 
The senators are requesting that the administration remain consistent with its previous decisions by removing the ship-to-shore cranes used at the Port of Savannah and the Port of Brunswick from the proposed list of tariffs to “allow our ports to continue with important infrastructure upgrades and prevent major disruptions to trade in the southeastern United States.”
 
Georgia ports regularly set new records for productivity, and thanks to the administration’s investment in the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project to deepen the port’s entryway, imports and exports are projected to continue to increase in the coming years. These goods are loaded and offloaded using ship-to-shore cranes, which were originally included in list three of the Section 301 tariffs, but were removed in a previous decision by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
 
“Furthermore, we ask that USTR remove all items that were initially removed from previous Section 301 tranches and then added again to list four,” the senators conclude. “Doing so will help to ensure predictability, reinforce the integrity of the exemption process, and reduce redundancy.”