Hearings begin today in Washington, D.C., over the proposal by the Trump administration to impose 25% tariffs on $300 billion worth of goods imported from China, including books. A number of book industry groups, as well as individual companies in the industry, are set to testify against the proposal. The hearings are expected to last several days.
The Association of American Publishers has been coordinating the publisher response to the proposal, and Lui Simpson, the AAP’s v-p for global policy, will testify before the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday morning. New ABA president Jamie Fiocco, owner of Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, is also set to appear before the hearing tomorrow. A story in the New York Times detailed the severe consequences the tariffs could have on bricks-and-mortar stores.
Other industry members set to testify on Tuesday are Mark Schoenwold, president and CEO of HarperCollins Christian Pubblishing; Daniel Reynolds, CEO of Workman; and Stan Jantz, president of the ECPA.
George Dick, president of the Four Colour Print Group of Louisville, Ky., told PW he will speak against the tariffs in testimony on Wednesday.Other speakers on Wednesday include Madeline McIntosh, CEO of Penguin Random House US, and G. Paul Hendrickson of Hendrickson Publishers.
In a Soapbox column in this week’s PW, industry expert Al Greco and PW editorial director Jim Milliot explain why books should be excluded from the tariffs.
