ALEXANDRIA, Va.—To assist members interested in filing comments on the impending increase of the China 301 duties on optical products, The Vision Council has created template letters, which can be accessed here. Members can make any changes to this template based on their company’s perspective and can incorporate their corporate letterhead (PDF formats will be accepted), according to a reminder notice from The Vision Council. Alternatively, members can fashion and file their own comments. All comments must be submitted here and filed by June 17, 2019. These comments will be public, so The Vision Council is advising companies to not include any confidential information.

It is critical that the optical industry voice any concerns to the United States Trade Representative Office regarding these tariffs, as the fourth list of proposed tariffs will impact all Chinese-origin optical products by imposing an additional tariff that could reach 25 percent. For more information on the China 301 duties, visit thevisioncouncil.org.

Members who submit comments are asked to send a copy to Greg Chavez, The Vision Council’s executive vice president of operations and membership, at gchavez@thevisioncouncil.org, for The Vision Council’s lobbyists to reference during their meetings.

All other questions regarding the China 301 duties can be directed to Rick Van Arnam, The Vision Council’s regulatory counsel, at rvanarnam@barnesrichardson.com.