The Independent Office Products and Furniture Dealers Association (IOPFDA) was in Washington D.C. on August 23 to caution the United States Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the use of tariffs against the office products and furniture industry.

Testifying on behalf of the IOPFDA, Mike Tucker warned that a lack of alternative sources will essentially make the tariffs and additional tax on business owners and cancel out any benefits provided by the recent tax cuts. “Ultimately, all of these costs will trickle down to our consumers, many of which are small business who have benefitted tremendously from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA),” Tucker said.

Another area of concern, according to Tucker, is the potential for tariffs to help counterfeiters targeting office products and furniture – an industry that has seen a 260 percent increase in counterfeits over the past year.

“We are actually running the risk of promoting the purchase of counterfeits as a cost-effective remedy. This is counterproductive to purpose for implementing the tariffs, in the first place – to address the theft of intellectual property by the Government of China,” he said.

Once the hearings come to an end, the USTR will reach a final decision on whether or not they will grant exemptions to the proposed tariffs. The IOPFDA will continue to be in touch with its members on any further developments.