Erik Olson, VP of the Rail Security Alliance, a recently established group focused on the national security implications of federal policies on the rail-freight industry, said his group’s biggest concern is the encroachment of Chinese companies on the US freight industry. Olson said that CRRC Corporation Limited, China’s leading producer of freight cars “has been targeting the US with underbids with the goal of market dominance.” Olson added that the Chinese company was not showcasing a profit motive but a market share and takeover motive. Tariffs on some of the goods related to the parts associated in the production of rail related items is welcome by the group. CRRC has a market cap of $42.6 billion and more than $33 billion in sales.
On the other hand, US energy groups are pressing the Trump administration to consider the economic harm to the domestic market of imposing tariffs on Chinese goods including freight cars. American Petroleum Institute, representing the oil industry, wrote a letter to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer against Section 301 tariffs stating, “Increasing the costs of these imported products with tariffs will likely hurt energy growth and negatively impact jobs and investments.” The oil and natural gas industry is also urging the Commerce Department to provide waivers on Section 232 for steel imports for pipelines and other forms of energy infrastructure.