Jennifer Thornton
General Counsel
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
600 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20508
Re: Docket No. USTR-2025-0007: Request for Comments on the Section 301 Investigation of China’s Implementation of Commitments under the Phase One Agreement, 90 Fed. Reg. 48,733 (Oct. 28, 2025)
Ms. Thornton,
The Entertainment Software Association (“ESA”) welcomes the opportunity to provide comments on the investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) into China’s implementation of its commitments under the 2020 Economic and Trade Agreement Between the U.S. Government and the People’s Republic of China (the “Phase I Agreement”). ESA is the U.S. trade association for the video game industry, representing the companies that manufacture video game hardware and publish interactive entertainment software for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the internet. ESA members are the innovators, creators, publishers, and business leaders reimagining entertainment and transforming how America plays video games. These companies develop not only the world’s most engaging interactive experiences for consumers, but also novel and cutting-edge entertainment technologies, such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality hardware and software.
Among the issues identified for comment in USTR’s notice is the question of what action, if any, should be taken to address China’s non-implementation of its commitments under the Phase I Agreement. Additional tariffs on video game consoles, controllers and other game accessories would significantly harm the video game industry, small game developers located in every state, ancillary businesses such as retailers and all of those employed in the U. S. in the industry, as well as the millions of consumers who love to play video games. For these reasons, ESA strongly urges USTR to ensure that video game consoles, controllers, and accessories remain excluded from any remedy enacted by USTR in relation to this Section 301 investigation.
