Manufacturers and Importers Ask for Retroactive MTB
More than 200 companies, and local and national business groups asked the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee to pass a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill that refunds the tariffs paid since the beginning of 2021 and extends tariff relief through 2026.
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"The MTB, which temporarily reduces or eliminate[s] tariffs on products that are not available in the U.S., has been expired since December 2020. Since then, manufacturers and other businesses have paid more than $1.4 billion in anti-competitive tariffs," they said in a letter made public Nov. 16.
The National Association of Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council, the American Apparel and Footwear Association and others also argued against Rep. Earl Blumenauer's proposal to exclude consumer goods from future lists of goods eligible for the MTB. Blumenauer, D-Ore., was the Trade Subcommittee chair when MTB expired; he is retiring from Congress at the end of 2024.
They asked that Congress reauthorize "future MTB cycles without broad and arbitrary restrictions that would be difficult to implement."
They said the higher tariffs are costing jobs and making it more attractive for businesses to produce overseas.
They also noted that the International Trade Commission estimated $3.3 billion in gross domestic product could be attributed to the tariff savings in MTB. (Annual U.S. GDP the last year MTB was in effect was more than $21 trillion).
"We urge Congress to pass the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill as soon as possible this year," they wrote.