General Motors is gearing up to make ventilators needed for critically ill COVID-19 patients, but according to the Wall Street Journal, some necessary parts must be sourced from China and are subject to a 25-per-cent tariff when they enter the United States.

In a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative, the automaker has asked the Trump administration to drop the import charges on the parts, which will otherwise make the ventilators more expensive and take longer to build.

Some products are currently imported without tariffs, including masks, complete ventilators, and certain medicines.

But in its letter, GM said tariffs remain in place on several parts needed to build the machines, including power cords, compressor silencers, grommets and filter parts. Each machine requires over 700 parts.

Tariffs were put in place in 2018 on many Chinese-made goods by the U.S. government during a trade war between the two countries.

On March 27, 2020, General Motors announced it would work with Ventec Life Systems to build ventilators and other medical supplies at its auto plant in Kokomo, Indiana and begin deliveries in April. The plant originally halted auto production due to the pandemic. The automaker has worked with the UAW to bring back some 1,000 employees from Kokomo, and from a metal stamping plant in Marion, Indiana.

The plant is expected to produce up to 50,000 medical masks per day, with the potential for up to 100,000 per day; and up to 10,000 ventilators per month, with the ability to scale up further if necessary.