Bipartisan Bill to Suspend Duties on Certain Footwear Introduced in House/Senate
On July 29, 2011, Representative Jenkins (R), along with 3 co-sponsors1, introduced H.R. 2697, the Affordable Footwear Act, a bill which would temporarily suspend duties on certain footwear imports. (The Affordable Footwear Act has been introduced several times before in both the House and Senate, but never enacted.)
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Would Suspend Duties on Certain Shoes, Protect Domestic Producers
According to press releases from the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and the American Apparel and Footwear Association, H.R. 2697 would:
- create a three-year suspension of import duties on certain footwear (e.g., low-cost and children’s shoes no longer made in U.S.); and
- exclude any product with U.S. production.
Similar Bill Introduced in the Senate
On May 25, 2011, a “similar” version of the Affordable Footwear Act (S. 1069) was introduced. One difference between S. 1069 and H.R. 2697 is the length of the duty suspension (S. 1069 would suspend duties through 2016, but H.R. 2697 would only suspend them through 2014). Other differences include, but are not limited to, slight differences in the footwear definitions, HTS numbers that would be eligible for duty suspension, etc.
1Representatives Blumenauer (D), Brady (R), and Crowley (D). (Representative Brady is the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Trade Subcommittee.)
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/27/11 news, 11052725, for BP summary of S. 1069.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 06/17/11 news, 11061722, for BP summary of recent study that shows cheaper apparel and shoes face higher U.S. tariffs.)
OIA press release available here
AAFA press release available here
Sponsor/co-sponsor press release available by emailing documents@brokerpower.com.