Tariff Relief Bill Passes House

The House of Representatives passed the Miscellaneous Trade & Technical Corrections Act of 2009 last week, a bill that gives tariff breaks to many items imported into the U.S., including scores of specific chemicals. The bill is important to many members of the trade group Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA) because it reduces their raw materials costs. “The duty suspension provisions have a direct impact on the bottom line of SOCMA members,” SOCMA President and CEO Lawrence D. Sloan said in a statement on the bill. “The cost savings achieved will allow small and mid-sized chemical manufacturers to maintain competitive operations, invest in new facilities, and retain workers.” The bill was slightly controversial because some Republicans had protested the “limited tariff benefits” in the bill as earmarks and therefore opposed the measure on principle. There is no tariff bill in the Senate, but this type of measure usually is passed by tacking it onto other legislation as an amendment.