WASHINGTON, D.C. — April 20, 2012 — Today, 65 Republican freshmen members of the U.S. House of
Representatives, led by Cong. Tom Reed (R-NY), sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) supporting the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) process
initiated by the Committee on Ways and Means. A copy of the freshman letter can be found at
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/UploadedFiles/GOP_Freshman_MTB_Letter.pdf.
“Plain and simple, the MTB is a trade bill that is a job creator for U.S. manufacturing,”
said American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) Executive Auggie Tantillo. “We
thank all of the members who signed the Reed letter,” Tantillo continued.
“The MTB creates jobs because it eliminates duties on intermediate inputs that are not
produced in the United States but are used by U.S. manufacturers,” Tantillo said.
“The MTB is a transparent process that contains important safeguards that prevents this
legislation from damaging any U.S. manufacturers. It is vetted thoroughly to make sure that
no bills are included that cover products made in the United States. This renders the measure
noncontroversial because no U.S. production is harmed,” Tantillo added.
“For the U.S. textile industry, the MTB is vital to reduce costs on inputs like certain
acrylic and rayon products that are no longer made in the United States. As an example, rayon
is no longer made in the United States for environmental reasons. Because the MTB provides
reduced cost access to that input, U.S. textile manufacturers are able to keep plants open that
make fabrics using rayon products,” Tantillo said.
The MTB is a series of bills that reduce tariffs on manufacturing inputs. The cost to
the U.S. Treasury for any individual bill cannot exceed $500,000. Each bill is vetted to make
sure there is no U.S. production for the input involved. For more information about the MTB
process, see:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/mtb/.
Posted April 24, 2012
Source: American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC)
