Hatch, Wyden Applaud Senate Passage of Tariff Bill

Press Release

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today lauded Senate passage of H.R. 4318, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) Act of 2017:

"This legislation will help American companies compete across the globe and create economic benefits for consumers by reducing trade barriers for American manufacturers that need products that are difficult to obtain in the United States," Hatch said. "It was crafted based on a robust process that considered the needs of importers and producers alike, and is the reflection of a bipartisan effort to increase competitiveness and growth. Let's build on this positive momentum to continue creating opportunities for American companies and families."

"This bill gives U.S. manufacturers a chance to better compete both here in the United States and abroad, by giving them a break on inputs that are not available here," Wyden said. "This is the result of a bipartisan effort and an inter-agency process to boost the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers around the world."

Background: In 2016, Congress overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 (AMCA) to establish an open and transparent process for consideration of the MTB. AMCA allowed American businesses to petition the International Trade Commission (ITC) for tariff relief. The ITC then conducted an analysis to determine whether each petition met the AMCA's requirements, including that no domestic producers of like products objected to the tariff reduction or suspension at issue.

In August of last year, the ITC, with input from Department of Commerce and Customs and Border Protection, provided a final report to Congress that included recommendations concerning more than 2,500 petitions. The ITC recommended that more than 1,800 of the petitions be included in MTB legislation.

The Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee reviewed the ITC report and crafted this legislation to implement the ITC's recommendations. In accordance with the AMCA, Congress may not include products that were not recommended by the ITC, and may only include non-controversial provisions.

Click here to view the ITC's final report.

Click here to view the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2017 (H.R. 4318).

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