Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) Floor Remarks on the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018
(As prepared for delivery)
Mr. Speaker, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill has historically had broad bipartisan support in both Chambers of Congress as a means to bolster U.S. manufacturing and competitiveness. Right now, MTB has been expired for more than five years. I am pleased that today we're finally able to consider updated MTB legislation.
The MTB is designed to provide relief to domestic firms by reducing or lifting tariffs on imported goods – as long as those goods are not being produced here in the United States. It is estimated that this legislation will provide more than one billion dollars in tariff relief to U.S. businesses. Many of these businesses are needlessly paying more to acquire inputs to manufacture products here in the U.S.
My home state of New Jersey will benefit greatly from the program, with firms projected to save more than $100 million over the course of the 3-year program. As a result, these New Jersey companies will receive a competitive boost and will be able to use their resources more productively, whether by raising wages or investing in research and development.
Consider ICF Mercantile, located in Fort Lee, New Jersey, which will obtain duty relief on high tenacity rayon yarn, an input for a material used for Naval defense systems. Unfortunately, this specialty yarn has not been produced domestically in 20 years – but that means removing the tariff here will help, not hurt, U.S. industry.
New Jersey also has a robust presence of chemical companies. It is our largest industry, employing directly or indirectly over 100,000 jobs, and several of those firms will receive tariff relief from numerous imported chemicals that I dare not try to pronounce.
And all those folks who like their antipasti, Italian sub, salad or pizza with some extra heat, will be pleased to enjoy tariff relief on little green pepperoncini, either packed in oil or not.
The MTB is also intended to carefully prevent domestic companies from being harmed. Under the current process, the International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce analyze whether products are currently or could be imminently produced in the United States. If such production or potential for production was found, the ITC recommended excluding that product.
The American Manufacturing and Competitiveness Act, which passed in 2016 with only two votes against it in the House, established the current process that invites U.S. firms to submit petitions that the ITC, Commerce, and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol analyze, vet, and recommend to Congress for inclusion or exclusion. I would like to thank each agency for its hard work and coordination with Congress throughout that process.
Boosting the competitiveness of American manufacturers and manufacturing workers should be one of our highest priorities in Congress. The MTB is a program that helps do that, and I want to make sure its impact is maximized.
This MTB bill covers more than 1600 products, compared with the previous MTB bill, which covered only about half as many products. Because this is the first time that this new process has been used, I am interested in reviewing both the process and its results and working together with those who have constructive suggestions for any improvements that can be made.
But I also want to note that this program is not enough. We as a Congress and as a nation need to be doing more and looking for more opportunities to enhance American competitiveness meaningfully. The global economic environment is not just tough, it is becoming more and more challenging and hostile to our companies and our workers.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting a bill that will provide some important relief to U.S. firms across the country.
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