Lawmakers Must Pass MTB to Salvage U.S. Manufacturing, Says NCTO Chairman
Lawmakers must push a bicameral and bipartisan Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) in order to boost the competitiveness of U.S. textiles and other U.S. manufacturers, said National Council of Textiles Organizations (NCTO) Chairman, Bill Jasper, in a Sept. 17 letter submitted to the Senate and House leadership. Due to expiration of the previous MTB bill on Dec. 31, 2012, U.S. producers will have to pay $750 million in tariffs over the next three years, said Jasper.
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“U.S. producers not able to absorb such high costs will look for offsets by scaling their back production and workforce in order to ensure long term viability of operations,” said Jasper. The House reintroduced an MTB bill on July 17, but the Senate is held up over debate on whether the legislation will violate a ban on earmarks (see 13071816). Some lawmakers and analysts predict MTB will be strapped on an omnibus trade bill vehicle in the coming months, with Trade Promotion Authority the flagship item (see 13081212). The NCTO letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.