Last week, ACA sent letters to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, urging swift legislative action on the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) without further delay. ACA’s comments followed committee hearings on the Biden Administration’s Trade Policy 2023 with United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai.
The MTB will temporarily eliminate and reduce border taxes on a set of products that have been found through a transparent and rigorous process at the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) not to be produced at all or in sufficient capacity in the United States.
Notably, many raw materials used in paint and coatings formulas are produced solely outside of the United States. “Without passage of the MTB, American consumers will pay directly and/or indirectly hundreds of millions of dollars each year in government-imposed import taxes on products not made or available in the United States, including those needed by the paint industry,” stated ACA’s letter.
Based on analyses by the National Association of Manufacturers, the MTB would eliminate import tariffs of more than $1.5 billion over three years (with full retroactivity to January 2021), bolstering manufacturers and other businesses in the United States, especially small and medium-sized manufacturers.
“This tariff relief translates into U.S. economic growth: According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, tariff relief under the previous MTB boosted U.S. GDP annually by as much as $3.3 billion and output annually by as much as $6.3 billion,” ACA underscored.
ACA supports and advocates for trade policy with a direct impact on its industry products.
Contact ACA’s Heidi McAuliffe for more information.