LAKE FORREST, Calif., Sept. 18,
2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Matt Davis, CEO of SafeRacks,
testified on behalf of Eagle Industrial Group Inc., the parent
company of SafeRacks, at the U.S. Trade Representative Section 301
Tariff Hearings in Washington,
D.C., in opposition to the recently announced tariffs on
imported goods from China. The
Trump administration will impose a 10 percent tariff starting
Sept. 24, 2018, and a 25 percent
tariff starting Jan. 1, 2019, on
$200 billion of imported goods from
China.
SafeRacks is a manufacturer, distributor and installer of garage
storage and home organization products. Davis, a 10-year career
veteran from the United States Air Force, believes these tariffs
will harm his business and others like it. One hundred percent of
SafeRacks products are made in China due to non-existent U.S. production
facilities and are all classified under HTS 9403.20.00.
Davis' products, which offer American consumers easy
do-it-yourself storage products and employs a nationwide network of
contractors to assist with installation, are bought online from
retailers like Costco, Amazon, The Home Depot and SafeRacks.com. He
notes that while the industry is highly competitive, SafeRacks,
like many companies, faces extremely low margins and cannot alone
absorb these tariffs.
In his opposition statement, Davis notes the tariffs will have
no impact on the Chinese to alter or change their policies,
practices and actions on intellectual property violations and trade
secrets theft. While SafeRacks does have its own patents and
proprietary designs, Davis says, "Little has changed or can be
stolen over the idea of a shelf." He explains that the only
negative and disproportionate impact will be on SafeRacks, its
employees and the American consumer.
He says in his testimony, "SafeRacks product sales are
incredibly susceptible to minor price changes and the imposition of
a duty will not only have a disproportionate, adverse impact on
U.S. consumers but harm SafeRacks as well, a U.S. company. The
consumer will bear the full burden of paying for these tariffs with
increased prices. At a certain point, the cost of our products will
outweigh the benefits of functionality."
Davis also notes that since the beginning, his company has
exclusively sourced its fabrication in China. There is no U.S. alternative
manufacturing source with the capacity or ability to fabricate,
coat, package and distribute SafeRacks products under the same
roof. The lack of U.S. production for SafeRacks product lines
would mean fabrication, coating and packaging would have to be done
in separate facilities in the United
States, which is cost-prohibitive.
"Tariffs are a sales tax on American consumers. They disrupt
supply chains and make it very difficult for small business to
compete," says Davis. "These tariffs are 30 years too late. The
U.S. has been shifting production to China for over three decades and you cannot
claw it back in a few short years. Chinese manufacturing has
become a narcotic the U.S. cannot get away from. As a veteran,
it is very patriotic to employ Americans as we do, but it is
equally as patriotic to find all inefficiencies in your supply
chain and bring low prices to American consumers."
To learn more about the company and the products it offers,
visit SafeRacks.com.
About SafeRacks
SafeRacks is a premier manufacturer, distributor and installer
of garage storage and home organization products. Since 2008, the
veteran-owned company has designed, patented and brought to market
many innovative products. To learn more, visit SafeRacks.com.
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SOURCE SafeRacks