Trade Subcommittee Leaders Propose Suspending Formula Tariffs
House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and ranking member Adrian Smith, R-Neb., are co-sponsors of a bill that would suspend tariffs on imported formula from Germany, Switzerland and England through Nov. 14.
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Lead Sponsor Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., the leader of the pro-trade New Democrats, said that tariffs on formula imported from countries that the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement with run about 27% on average.
“The legislation we are introducing today can help alleviate this crisis by lowering the price of imported baby formula from safe and trusted partners abroad while our domestic production catches up," DelBene said June 22. Before the FDA loosened restrictions on formula imports, about 98% of formula purchased in the U.S. was made inside this country.
"The Biden Administration has taken important steps to increase supply and I applaud the FDA’s actions to import more formula. Now Congress must act to temporarily remove tariff barriers so families can access affordable formula," Blumenauer said in a press release announcing the bill's introduction.